Employers Have Escaped Paying $100 Million in Federal OSHA Fines

OSHA, the federal government’s primary worker safety agency, wrote off nearly $100 million in fines as uncollectible in the past three fiscal years, according to data obtained by Bloomberg Law.

The rate of outstanding debt—about 20% of cited employers don’t pay up—comes at the same time the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been under fire for imposing penalties that are too low for the cited violations, and for failing to take specific action to protect workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Criticism has been leveled by unions, Democratic lawmakers, and even President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia. ...