DOL Updates Penalty and Debt Collection Procedures

The U.S. Department of Labor has updated its guidance on penalty and debt collection procedures in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Field Operations Manual to minimize the burden on small businesses and increase prompt hazard abatement.

The new policy, outlined in the Penalties and Debt Collection section of OSHA's Field Operations Manual, increases penalty reductions for small employers, making it easier for small businesses to invest resources in compliance and hazard abatement.

Additionally, the updated policy expands the penalty reduction for employers without a history of serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate OSHA violations. Under OSHA's revised policy, employers who have never been inspected by federal OSHA or an OSHA State Plan, as well as employers who have been inspected in the previous five years and had no serious, willful, or failure-to-abate violations, are eligible for a 20% penalty reduction.

The new policies are effective immediately. Penalties issued before July 14, 2025, will remain under the previous penalty structure. Open investigations in which penalties have not yet been issued are covered by the new guidance.

OSHA reserves the right to withhold penalty reductions if the penalty adjustments do not advance the goals of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.  Learn more about OSHA.