The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently published criteria for removing employers from the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP).
OSHA enacted the SVEP on June 18, 2010 as a means to focus agency resources on employers demonstrating indifference to their workplace safety responsibilities with willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations.
The 330 employers named to the list since the programs induction are subject to mandatory re-inspections at the original location of the violations and inspections at their other locations around the country.
To date the only way to be removed from the list was to successfully appeal the original violations; however, with this new announcement employers have another out.
Through the removal option unveiled by OSHA an employer may be considered for removal from the program by an OSHA Regional Administrator after:
- A period of three years from the date of the final disposition of the SVEP inspection citation items including: failure to contest, settlement agreement, Review Commission final order, or court of appeals decision.
- All affirmed violations have been abated, all final penalties have been paid, the employer has abided by and completed all settlement provisions, and has not received any additional serious citations related to the hazards identified in the SVEP inspection at the initial establishment or at any related establishments.
In the event an employer fails to adhere to the terms and provisions of the agreement, the employer will remain in the program for an additional three years and will then be reevaluated.
