OSHA should develop better practices to ensure that regional offices are adhering
to the agency's procedures for calculating fines and following the agency's procedures for violation abatement, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (the former General Accounting Office),
the investigative arm of Congress.
The report said that while OSHA requires regional offices to conduct annual
audits to check if they are following proper procedures for penalty calculation,
penalty collection, and abatement of safety and health hazards found at work
sites, the agency has no system in place to review the audits.
The GAO reviewed audits from the five regions with the most inspections and
discovered that some area offices miscalculated penalties and failed to conduct
required follow-up inspections. In addition, the GAO concluded that some of
the information in the audits was incomplete.
OSHA uses four factors when determining fines for safety violations: the gravity
of the violation, the size of the business, the employer's history of previous
violations, and the good faith of the employer.
The GAO found variations in the penalties even when it controlled for certain
factors. After the GAO controlled for differences in gravity and employer size,
it found that some industries were assessed penalties that averaged $257 more
than others.
In the report, the GAO recommended that OSHA look into statistical modeling
"to help OSHA determine if penalties are being assessed correctly and identify
if unanticipated factors are influencing penalty amounts."
In addition, the GAO recommended that OSHA:
- Ensure that regions complete audits in accordance with OSHA's required
audit procedures and
- Monitor audit results in their overseeing of the civil penalty determination
and violation abatement processes.
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