OSHA, EPA, and Other Federal Civil Penalties Increase for 2024
Posted on February 6, 2024 | in EHS
Federal civil penalties for non-compliance with federal regulations are once again going up in 2024…but not quite as bad as last year. It’s the new year and OSHA, EPA, MSHA, and all other US federal agencies have recently published their 2024 annual civil penalty adjustments under the requirements of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. Under the Act, all federal agencies are required to revise and publish their schedule of civil penalties based on the previous year’s rate of inflation, which is calculated based on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U). 2024 federal civil penalty adjustments are based on a published Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) multiplier of 1.03241. In other words, all federal fines and penalties for non-compliance are going up by roughly 3.2%.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the updated civil penalty schedules for US federal agencies most relevant to EHS professionals to see how these changes could impact your business.
OSHA Civil Penalties
On January 11, 2024, The US Department of Labor published its updated civil penalties in the Federal Register, including those issued and enforced by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which become effective January 16. The table below shows a brief comparison of 2023 and 2024 penalty amounts for violations of selected OSHA regulations.
EPA Civil Penalties
As of January 15, 2024, EPA fines have also increased 3.2%. The EPA’s published penalty adjustments provide additional details on how the changes affect penalty amounts under specific regulations. For example, the table below shows a comparison of 2023 and 2024 penalty amounts for violations of selected EPA regulations:
*2023 penalty amounts are or violations that occurred after November 2, 2015, where penalties were assessed on or after January 6, 2023, but before December 27, 2023
**2024 penalty amounts are for violations that occur or occurred after November 2, 2015, where penalties are assessed on or after December 27, 2023
MSHA Civil Penalties
Like OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) operates under the purview of the US Department of Labor (DOL). MSHA has also updated its penalties to account for the 3.2% rise in CPI-U for 2024. The table below shows a comparison of 2023 and 2024 penalty amounts for violations of selected MSHA regulations:
Additional 2024 Federal Civil Penalties
Updated penalty amounts published by other important EHS regulatory agencies can be found at the links below:
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
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