Michaels: OSHA Awaits OMB Guidance Before Starting Work On Penalty Cap Increase

OSHA's standards division will not begin preliminary internal work on the rule expected next year to boost the maximums on penalties for safety and health violations until it receives pending guidance from the White House budget office, agency chief David Michaels tells Inside OSHA Online . OSHA must promulgate an interim final rule before it can implement a one-time “catch-up” of penalty caps to match inflation since 1990, when maximum fines were last set in statute. OSHA, unlike most agencies,...