The data demonstrate the sluggish enforcement strategy of the state and federal agencies. OSHA and the state agencies together declined to levy penalties for 67 percent of the violations found. Wilful violations are those committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the act. Serious violations are those in which a company should have known of a substantial probability of an accident resulting in death or serious injury, such as a crushed arm or liver failure. Of the 1,238 penalties issued against the 10 corporations collectively, only 5 percent were imposed for wilful violations.
Critics charge that the policy is nothing more than a pretext to drastically reduce penalties.
Kinney argues that a true voluntary compliance system requires verification. He points out that IRS auditors are permanently stationed at many corporations to verify compliance with tax laws and that Pentagon officials monitor defense contractors every day for compliance with procurement laws. Theoretically, our internal revenue tax system is a voluntary compliance system. I think we ought to have OSHA inspectors at these companies on a daily basis from moment to moment. And that's voluntary compliance.