In a July 14, 2025 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) National News Release, the U.S. Department of Labor announced updates to their penalty structure for facilities that are cited for OSHA violations. According to the Agency, the fines they issue are meant to provide an incentive for preventing and/or correcting violations voluntarily, and are not intended to be punitive.
The updated penalty structure includes modified adjustment factors to lessen the fines for certain categories of violations. When determining the final citation fees, OSHA considers the following:
- Size of the employer: Small businesses can receive larger reductions.
- Good faith effort: The employer’s commitment to ensuring workplace safety and health can lead to reduced fines.
- History of violations: Businesses with no record of previous serious violations can receive lower penalties.
- Prompt correction of violations: Employers who immediately correct issues und during an inspection may be issued smaller fees.
Although penalty reduction practices were already in place as allowed under Section 17 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the recent updates outlined in Chapter 6 of OSHA’s Field Operations Manual were made to further minimize the financial burden on businesses, in particular small businesses, allowing them to dedicate more resources to compliance and hazard abatement. The modified fine reduction allowances are summarized below.
- 70 percent for small businesses with 25 or fewer employees. Previously, this reduction could only be used for employers with fewer than 10 employees. (Note that the “Size” adjustment is based on the maximum number of employees at all of a company’s U.S. locations.)
- 20 percent for employers of any size who have not previously been inspected by OSHA. This “History” adjustment also applies to businesses that have been inspected in the previous five years and found to be in compliance, or had no serious, willful, or failure-to-abate violations.
- 15 percent for any employer who immediately takes steps to address or correct a hazard(s) related to the violation(s) for which they were cited. This is referred to as a “Quick-Fix” penalty reduction. (Note that it can only be applied to violations classified as other-than-serious and/or low to moderate gravity.)
The new policies are effective immediately. Fines issued before July 14, 2025 will remain under the previous penalty adjustment structure.
For information about the costs associated with the different categories of OSHA violations, check out our 2025 Federal Civil Penalty Increases blog. For help ensuring that your health and safety program is inspection-ready to prevent regulatory violations and fines, please contact us!
This blog was written by Beth Graham, Safety Partners’ Director of Quality, Research, and Training.