The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulates safekeeping in the factories, in the offices, and at other workplaces in the US and leads regular workstations checkups. This is why it is very important that the employers stay compliant with the OSHA codes and enable various training to the employees, including EPA RRP blended courses, as the inability to follow those may lead to recommendations or significant monetary penalties. OSHA outlines 6 categories of violations starting from the minor to the serious ones:
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De Minimis
It is the smallest violation that has no influence on the safety of the workers directly. It usually arrives from the implementations of certain solutions which are different from standard. For example, a window clearance is a half-inch lower than what OSHA demands, or the lungs between a ladder are 13 inches apart instead of 12. These offenses do not involve any monetary penalty.
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Other-Than-Serious
This type of breach appears in the cases where the accident or trauma is not likely to be caused, however, which still has an impact on the well-being of the employees. For instance, lack of printed safety regulations at the worksite. For such offenses, a penalty of a maximum of $7000 may apply.
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Serious
If a serious offense was detected, it means that there is a possibility of physical harm or death at the worksite. The unavailability of steel toe shoes for the individuals who manually transport heavy things is an instance of a serious breach, which might involve the charge of up to $13,494.
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Willful
This offense arrives from the intentional breach of OSHA rules or the employer’s indifference to workers’ well-being. As the most serious violation, it can result in significant monetary fines (up to $134,937) or even an employer’s imprisonment in case of an employee’s death.
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Repeated
Employer’s citation for a certain OSHA breach leads to subsequent checkups on the same matters in the consecutive years. Should the employer fail to fix the initial offense, the inspector might apply the monetary penalty of up to $134,937.
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Failure to Abate
This happens in case the previously cited violation has not been brought into compliance until the deadline. When such a situation takes place, the employer is fined for the amount of $13,494 per day starting from the day after the deadline until he improves the condition.
OSHA Top 10 Violations 2021
Every year OSHA provides a report of the most cited violations, and the year 2021 was not an exception. These citations come as a result of thorough inspections conducted by federal OSHA, and this year, just like for the last ten years, violations of General Requirements and Fall Protection caused by the lack of fall protection class have taken the first spot.
The second and third places took violations of Respiratory Protection and Ladders, respectively. Following these, the most cited standards are Scaffolding, Hazard Communication, and Lockout/Tagout.
The top 10 violations in 2021 are concluded by the breaches in the following categories:
- Fall Protection, Training Requirements
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment, Eye and Face Protection
- Powered Industrial Trucks
- Machine Guarding