OSHA Cuts Penalties for Small Employers and Fast Abatement

Quick Hits

• OSHA announced on July 14, 2025, that it is broadening the penalty reductions that small employers can qualify for.
• The new guidance also expands the penalty reductions for employers that have no history of repeated violations and those that take steps to immediately correct a hazard.
• The new policies took effect immediately.

A 70 percent penalty reduction, which was previously only available to businesses with ten or fewer employees, will now be extended to businesses with up to twenty-five employees. A 30 percent size reduction is available to employers with twenty-six to one hundred workers. Employers with 101 to 250 workers may be eligible for a 10 percent size reduction.

Meanwhile, a 15 percent penalty reduction is now available to employers that immediately take action to address a hazard. Likewise, employers that have never been inspected by OSHA or an OSHA state plan, as well as employers that have been inspected in the previous five years with no repeat, serious, willful, or failure-to-abate violations, can qualify for a 20 percent penalty reduction.

OSHA’s standard civil penalties, updated annually for inflation, are listed here. In general, the size of the civil penalty is based on the gravity of the violation, the size of the employer, the good faith efforts by the employer, and the employer’s history of violations.

OSHA may decide not to apply civil penalty adjustments to citation items based on several factors, such as:

• the citations are related to a fatality or catastrophe;
• the employer has received a willful or repeat violation within the past five years related to a fatality;
• the employer has failed to report a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye;
• the employer is on the Severe Violator Enforcement Program List;
• the proposed citations meet the requirements for inclusion in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program List;
• the proposed citations are being considered for an egregious case;
• the employer has numerous recordkeeping violations related to a large number or rate of injuries and illnesses;
• the employer has been referred to debt collection for past unpaid OSHA penalties; or
• the employer has not responded to previous citations.

The new policies apply only to penalties issued on or after July 14, 2025.

Furthermore, criminal penalties may be assessed for anyone who gives advance warning of an OSHA inspection, makes false statements to OSHA, or willfully violates an OSHA standard or rule in a way that results in a fatality.

Next Steps

The new policies provide a financial break for small employers and those with good safety records. Employers may wish to keep accurate records of their workforce size as it changes throughout the year. They may wish to train managers to act quickly to correct hazards identified by OSHA or internal investigations, clearly document the timing of the actions, and maintain records of any state and federal OSHA inspections.

Employers may wish to continue good-faith efforts to prevent and correct workplace hazards before a federal or state OSHA inspection happens. Good-faith efforts include having a safety and health program with these elements: leadership and worker participation, hazard identification and assessment, hazard prevention and control measures, safety and health education and training, and program evaluation and improvement.

Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Workplace Safety and Health blog as new information becomes available.

Kevin D. Bland is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Orange County office.

Wayne E. Pinkstone is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Philadelphia office.

This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.

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