The following is a guest post by Trent Cotney, P.A.*
Under the current administration, OSHA has dramatically increased the number of inspections and citations issued to roofing contractors. President Obama recently signed the Federal Budget Act (the “Act”) on November 2, 2015. A provision was buried in the text of the Act that authorized OSHA to increase the penalties for citations for the first time since 1990. Under the Act, OSHA can account for inflation from 1990 to 2015 and increase fines using a one-time increase. Modified for inflation, penalties can increase by as much as 82%. For example, the maximum fine for a repeat or willful violation is $70,000. Under the new Act, the fines could increase to $125,000. The minimum fine often assessed to contractors is $7,000 for serious-classified violations. Under the new Act, that fine could increase to approximately $12,500. [Read more…]