March 17, 2003—Employers who expose their workers to serious safety and health hazards and who continue to defy worker safety and health regulations, will be subject to an enhanced enforcement policy that Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao unveiled March 11.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Enhanced Enforcement Policy will focus on those employers who have received “high gravity” citations. High gravity citations are issued when an employer’s violations are considered to be at the highest level of severity.
The policy focuses on five specific areas that will be strengthened: (1) follow-up inspections; (2) programmed inspections; (3) public awareness; (4) settlements; and (5) federal court enforcement. This initiative impacts establishments that received OSHA citations with the highest severity of willful violations, multiple serious violations at the highest level of severity, repeat violations at the originating establishment, failure-to-abate notices, or a serious or willful violation associated with a fatality.
