SB 96, which was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on June 27, 2017, will increase certain Cal/OSHA penalties.
This legislation will result in changes to CCR Title 8, Section 336 Assessment of Civil Penalties. The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has already submitted the necessary paperwork to make these increases effective January 1, 2018.
This legislation has amended Labor Code Section 6427 which deals with the civil penalties for a violation of a safety or health standard. Previously, general (non-serious) violations were assessed a penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation. That penalty ceiling will increase about 78% to up to $12,471 per violation. This same ceiling increase also applies to civil penalties for regulatory (posting and recordkeeping requirements) violations (Labor Code Section 6431).
Labor Code Section 6429 was also amended, which changed the civil penalty for willful or repeat violations from up to $70,000 to $124,709 per violation, but in no case less than $8,908 (the old minimum was $5,000).
Each January starting in 2018, these maximum penalties will be evaluated “based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), not seasonally adjusted, for the month of October immediately preceding the date of the adjustment.”
SB 96 also removes the $2,000 maximum penalty limit for crane safety standard violations and violations of standards and special orders regulating the use of carcinogens.