What happens when two federal laws regarding OSHA penalties conflict with each other?
That’s a question that the courts may have to take up.
Travis Vance, an attorney with Fisher Phillips who deals with OSHA and MSHA matters, writes in the firm’s blog that the recent penalty increases may not be valid.
First, some background.
In 2015, Congress passed legislation allowing various federal agencies, including OSHA, to increase their maximum penalties for inflation. In OSHA’s case, a one-time catch-up was allowed, because the last time OSHA penalties were increased was in 1990.
