What's Your Opinion: Will the recently announced increase in OSHA fines lead to safer workplaces?

Fines to the company and the individuals make the workers stop and say"hold on,Joe got fined for doing this 2 months ago". This forces the co. to do the safe thing.

Safe workplaces ultimately come down to culture and leadership commitment to it.

Safer workplaces come from a safety culture that starts from the top to the bottom including everyone.

I think initially, the increase in fines will not make a difference however, over time, some companies known as the repeat offenders will probably start to feel it in the pocket book and will be forced to make changes to their safety program. I would also consider looking at the hiring and firing rates of some of these companies along the way.

It depends..... Company's with a modest-decent safety program will be able to justify spending more on safety so they don't spend more on potential fines. The fly by the seat of your pants company's however won't change. They will just complain that the government is trying to unfairly target the "little guy" and force them out of the market.

Small to mid sized companies get crushed by fines and over regulation, while larger companies just hire another attorney to fight these off. Safety is a culture and you either have it or you don't.

I think that a stricter fine $ will make people think more, however I would have to say that it is going to take a long time for people to change and look toward safety.

Fines do nothing if people are not held accountable for safety. Doing something after someone gets hurt or killed is not the answer and its not fixing the issue. Fines will only work if they are done proactively. They must be part of the punishment of finding and not correcting a safety hazard. Preventing an accident from occurring is the key. Prevention should be the focus. Fines are only a scare tactic. We must get it in our heads that no work is worth someone's life or limb and anyone who violates the rules should be punished. If it is severe enough the law should hand out the punishment. The punishment should be just and fair. In April 2010, 29 workers lost their lives in a mine explosion. U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of West Virginia and a jury of his peers convicted CEO Donald Blankenship with a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to violate mine safety regulations. That's a shame and is not even close to just and fair punishment. This will not change things at these unsafe mines or other businesses that violate safety rules. OSHA needs to be so visible that workers and companies deal with them daily on preventing tragedies like this. That's the only way to truly help prevent accidents.

Workplace safety is in force but not policed at my workplace (Car Dealership) Spraying of dangerous chemicals, floating in the air for everybody to breathe. Managment dont want to know about what takes place out the back

Negative pressure typically does not deliver positive results. Positive employee relations in a culture of safety accountability driven by leaders who walk the talk will lead to safer work places.

Bad companies will continue to fail to follow the rules. Those making honest mistakes are harmed.

It will still be easier to pay the fines instead of being pro-active to have a safe workplace for employees. With the few OSHA inspectors available the number of inspections will not increase so the employer will take their chances with the small percentage of inspections.

The increase in fines will have no bearing whatsoever in creating safer workplaces. The truth is the companies that ignore workplace safety do so knowing that the chance of an OSHA inspector randomly knocking on their door is probably the same as getting struck by lightning. There are millions of work sites and it would probably take an unbelievable amount of years before they could possibly visit each and everyone one and everybody knows it. I would liken it to raising the price of speeding ticket fines. Everyone would continue to speed until they got caught and then they would stop for a while until the sting is forgotten. The only true path to improving workplace safety is through employee involvement and ownership in safety through OSHA's cooperative program, the Voluntary Protection Program or VPP. This is where companies that care about their workers safety commit to going above and beyond regulations until workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities can be decreased and hopefully some day soon eradicated.

OSHA likes the shock and awe of large fines, but ends up negotiating them down to minor penalties. They're more bark than bite.

The premise is not true. Fines were greatly increased during the last six years. Prior to six years ago non serious violations cited by OSHA did not result in fines. we were given suggestions and we proved that we moved into compliance. A recent OSHA inspection resulted in $10,000 in fines for minor problems, like a single missing MSDA sheet. When I questioned this I was told by the OSHA supervisor that the new policy is to fine for every violation, no exceptions. That makes OSHA the enemy of businesses not a partner. That does not make work places safer.

No. Ignorance is most often the reason for failure to comply. Larger companies will see the fines as part of doing business. In order for the fines to be fair, they should be scaled according to net worth of the organization.