Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 437 - DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS SERVICES, OREGON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH DIVISION › Division 1 - RULES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE OREGON SAFE EMPLOYMENT ACT › Section 437-001-0145 - Penalty for Other than Serious or Serious Violation

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1) A penalty must
			 be assessed for any serious violation and may be assessed for any other than
			 serious violation as established by the intersection of the probability rating
			 and severity rating on the Penalty Schedule (Table 1). In a case where
			 probability and severity are not appropriate considerations, a penalty may be
			 assessed by considering the facts of the violation.
[Table 1 - Penalty table]
(2) Penalty adjustments will be made based on
			 an employer's size for all violations. Additional adjustments for an employer's
			 compliance history, injury and illness history, demonstrated good faith
			 efforts, and corrective action taken at the time of the inspection will be
			 determined by the Compliance Officer and assessed as follows:
(a) Size adjustments - based on statewide
			 peak employment:
[Table 2 - Penalty size adjustments]
(b) History adjustments will be based on
			 injuries and illnesses (and trends) during the previous three years, including
			 available information from both Workers' Compensation data and Bureau of Labor
			 Statistics. This assessment will also include a review of the employer's
			 violation history within the past three years. Adjustments will be made as
			 follows:
(A) 10% reduction of the base
			 penalty if the compliance officer determines that the information demonstrates
			 a positive history overall;
(B) No
			 change in the base penalty if the compliance officer determines that history is
			 what would be expected of a typical employer; or
(C) 10% increase of the base penalty if the
			 compliance officer determines that the information demonstrates a negative
			 history overall.
(c)
			 Good faith adjustments will be determined by, but not limited to, review of
			 certain criteria as follows:
(A) Evidence of
			 an overall safety and health program.
(B) Effective communication of safety and
			 health policies.
(C) Promotion of
			 safety and health prior to the inspection.
(D) Employees are clearly involved in the
			 safety and health program.
(E)
			 Management's commitment at all levels is apparent.
(F) Worksite hazard analysis is
			 conducted.
(G) Employees and
			 managers alike are held accountable for safety and health.
(H) Adjustments will be made as follows:
(i) 20% reduction of the base penalty if the
			 compliance officer determines that the information demonstrates a better than
			 average effort to comply with the law and rules;
(ii) No adjustment in the base penalty if the
			 compliance officer determines that the information demonstrates an employer's
			 good faith effort is average; or
(iii) 20% increase of the base penalty if the
			 compliance officer determines that the information demonstrates a poorer than
			 average effort to comply with the law and rules.
(d) A 10% reduction of the base
			 penalty will be provided for immediate correction of violations or other unsafe
			 conditions identified during the inspection provided that such corrective
			 action is substantial and not temporary or superficial.