Recent actions by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration may provide employers additional opportunities for penalty and enforcement relief.
On July 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor updated OSHA penalty guidelines in actions described as designed to improve workplace safety. OSHA’s penalty guidelines are provided in Chapter 6 of its Field Operations Manual. Under the prior guidelines, small employers eligible for an up-to-70% reduction in penalty were those with no more than 10 employees. The latest revisions increase the employee threshold for “small employers” to those with 25 or fewer employees. Further, employers who take proactive steps to correct hazards are now eligible for a 15% penalty reduction. Previously, this “quick fix” reduction was only available to employers who corrected violations during the inspection or that same day. Per the new changes, an employer may still qualify for the “quick fix” reduction up to 5 days following the inspection if the “immediate” fix requires “more complex abatement actions” such as purchasing materials, fabrication of parts, or training. This timeline can also be expanded up to 15 days from discovery in “extenuating circumstances” where items are required to be ordered or shipped. Employers hoping to qualify for the full 15-day “quick fix” reduction must notify the compliance officer within 5 days of the condition being discovered why the additional 10 days are necessary.
Employers who have never been inspected by OSHA or have no serious, willful, or failure-to-abate violations in the prior five years are now also eligible for a 20% penalty reduction. Previously, only employers who had previously been inspected would have been eligible for an up to 10% penalty reduction.
The reductions are not automatic, and OSHA still retains the right to withhold penalty reductions where such penalty adjustments do not advance the goals of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Similarly, on July 24, 2025, the Department of Labor announced self-audit programs across six federal agencies “to help [the] regulated community strengthen compliance with federal labor laws.” As one of those six agencies, OSHA announced an expansion of its Voluntary Protection Program. While not offering specifics on what this expanded role would be, OSHA states the intent is to “help develop strong safety programs and lower injury rates, allowing [businesses] to undergo regular self-evaluations and avoid routine inspections.” Employers that enter the VPP are exempt from OSHA-programmed inspections while in the program; however, they should be aware that participation in the program requires a “rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals” as well as re-evaluation every three to five years. While not yet finalized, recent legislative efforts have attempted to codify OSHA’s VPP, including through budgeting requirements, as politicians across both major parties attempt to formalize OSHA’s voluntary support programs.
OSHA also announced that it is “increasing its efforts to support voluntary compliance” through its On-Site Consultation Program. Through this consultation program, OSHA provides no-cost and confidential safety and health evaluation services to small and medium-sized businesses.
While more guidance may be forthcoming, these actions continue to demonstrate opportunities for employers to mitigate inspection or penalty risk through self-audits and disclosure. We will continue to monitor these and other OSHA developments at the Corporate Environmental Lawyer blog.
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