In a unanimous vote, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has made permanent a pilot program requiring formal settlement talks in cases where high penalties are faced by employers. These cases are ones where health or job safety citations may bring penalties of $200,000 or more. The settlement talks are intended to promote resolution of disputes in the preliminary stages of cases, in order to reduce litigation costs and bring swifter correction of potential workplace hazards.
To ensure the success of settlement talks, company officials who have the authority to settle must be present at the settlement conferences. In addition, the agency will review criteria for selecting these cases, monitor participant satisfaction, track associated costs, and ascertain the effect on the workload of Review Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) presiding over the cases.
Based on a report from Safety Currents
