In a move undoubtedly welcomed by many small businesses across the country, Occupational Health and Safety Administration workplace penalty reductions are being expanded.
“All employers should be offered the opportunity to comply with regulations that help maintain a safe working environment,” the federal Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA, stated in a release announcing the new policy.
“Small employers who are working in good faith to comply with complex federal laws should not face the same penalties as large employers with abundant resources,” the release continues.
The change has been anticipated, given that Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer has earlier expressed concerns that OSHA penalties for various workplace issues had become too large and onerous for small businesses.
In a statement, Keith Sonderling, deputy Secretary of Labor, remarked: “By lowering penalties on small employers, we are supporting the entrepreneurs that drive our economy, giving them the tools they need to keep our workers safe and healthy on the job, while keeping them accountable.”
The new policy is now laid out in the agency’s Field Operations Manual. That publication documents a 70% penalty reduction, previously in place for businesses with ten or fewer employees, will now includes businesses with up to 25 staffers.
A 15% penalty reduction is being offered for employers who take immediate steps to rectify a workplace hazard; along with a 20% penalty reduction for employers who have never before been subject to an OSHA investigation.
Responses to the policy change have been mixed. The Washington-based Economic Policy Institute has characterized the change as an “employer-friendly, not a worker-friendly shift in enforcement.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, however, has asserted that “workers and employers can be thankful” for the policy change.
The Chamber additionally contends that “reducing the penalty for small employers will also decrease the need to challenge citations, thereby expediting the abatement of the hazard and increasing protection for workers.”
September 4, 2025
By Garry Boulard
