Employers Appeal OSHA Virus Citations at Five Times Typical Rate

Nearly half of all employers cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for Covid-19-related violations are appealing the charges, a rate that is five times higher than the average for all federal workplace safety citations.

As of April 15, employers had filed 172 appeals of virus citations with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the panel that hears challenges to OSHA citations, according to commission data. That represents about 42% of the 408 Covid-19 cases where OSHA said it cited workplaces from July 1, 2020 through April 12, 2021.

Typically, only about 8% of employers cited by OSHA ...