Tucked away on federal OSHA's website is a list of 163 employers with the dishonorable label "severe violator." The designation comes from an enforcement program launched in April 2010 to identify
"recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law."The label is not easy to get. In any given year, less than 1% of U.S. worksites are subject to an OSHA inspection, and few violations (only about 4%) are classified as "willful," "repeat," or "failure-to-abate" ----one of the necessary criteria for the severe violator designation. A serious violation, even one that contributed to a worker's death, maiming, brain damage or other severe injury, is not serious enough for the "Severe Violator" label.
In July of this year, OSHA posted its first list of these bad actor employers and it contained 147 names. This updated list includes 25 new employers for a total of 163. Seven employers who appeared on the July list have shed the severe violator label.
