OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual CPL 2.103
Section 1 - Change Memos

• Chapter Number: Change
• Chapter Title: Change Memos

July 13, 1999

This is to advise you of a change to OSHA's probability assessment and "good faith" penalty adjustment considerations for violations involving minor employees which will be effective on the date of this memorandum. This change is being made to provide more effective protection for young workers, who are especially vulnerable to workplace hazards. Young workers in this situation are those employees who are less than 18 years old.

Please make the following pen-and-ink changes at C.2.f.(2)(f) on page IV-10 of the OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual (FIRM):

C.2.f. Probability Assessment.

(2) Violations. The following circumstances may normally be considered, as appropriate, when violations likely to result in injury or illness are involved.

(a) Number of workers exposed. ..

(f) Other pertinent working conditions.

(f) Youth and inexperience of workers, especially those under 18 years old.

(g) Other pertinent working conditions.

Please make the following pen-and-ink changes at C.2.i.(5)(b) on page IV-14 of the FIRM:

C.2.i. (5)(b) Good Faith. A penalty reduction of up to 25 percent, based on the CSHO's professional judgment, is permitted in recognition of an employer's "good faith".

..5. Where young workers (i.e., less than 18 years old) are employed, the CSHO's evaluation must consider whether the employer's safety and health program appropriately addresses the particular needs of such workers with regard to the types of work they perform and the hazards to which they are exposed.

State Plan States. OSHA believes that this policy change is an effective tool for dealing with employers who expose children to safety and health violations. We strongly encourage the States to adopt a similar penalty adjustment policy for violations exposing young workers and to notify their Regional Administrator as to their intent.

If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Kapust or William Smith in the Office of General Industry Compliance Assistance at (202) 693-1850.

June 21, 1996

This is to advise you that effective July 1, 1996 all OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) shall review the employer's injury and illness records for three prior calendar years, record the information on a copy of the OSHA-200 screen, and enter the employer's data using the IMIS Application on the NCR (micro). This shall be done for all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture inspections and investigations.

For construction inspections/investigations, only the OSHA-200 information for the prime/general contractor need be recorded. It will be left to the discretion of the area office or the CSHO as to whether OSHA-200 data should also be recorded for any of the subcontractors.

CSHOs will not need to calculate the LWDII rate since it is automatically calculated when the OSHA-200 data is entered into the micro. If one of the three years is a partial year, so indicate, and the software will calculate accordingly. CSHOs shall, however collect the Number of Employee Hours Worked in each of the reference years, or if the information is not available, the Average Number of Full Time Employees (FTEs).

CSHOs can print blank OSHA-200 screens through any form containing establishment processing (1A, 7, 36, 90, 55). The NCR's Systems Administrator can also print blank 200 forms from selection N. Blankforms Menu on the Systems Administration Screen.

Select Q. UnNumbered 200 & PEP.

It will be necessary for training to be provided, in each area office, for CSHOs who are not using the CSHO Application, to ensure that they can gather and enter the necessary data for calculation of the LWDII. The PC-CSHO Application on the laptops for the OSHA-200 is not yet available.

This memorandum supersedes any policy or procedure to the contrary that is found in the Field Inspection Reference Manual (FIRM) or what might be found in any memorandum issued before the date of this memorandum. This has been cleared with NCFLL.

If you have any questions, contact Art Buchanan at (202) 219-8041 x114.

March 23, 1995

This is to advise you of a change to OSHA's civil willful penalty which will be effective as of the date of this memorandum. The change concerns the proposed minimum serious willful penalties for the smaller employers. The small employers in this situation are those with 50 or fewer employees. In no case will the proposed penalty be less than the statutory minimum, i.e., $5,000 for these employers.

Please make the following pen-and-ink changes at C.2.b.(1) on page IV-8 of the OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual (FIRM):

State Plan States. Regional Administrators shall ensure that this memorandum is promptly forwarded to each State designee and explain its content as requested. This changes the minimum willful penalty policy which was previously transmitted by memorandum on June 14, 1994 and later incorporated in CPL 2.103, the Field Inspection Reference Manual (FIRM), on September 26, 1994. OSHA believes that this policy change is an effective tool for dealing with significant willful safety and health violations especially as modified in the above table which minimizes penalties for employers with 50 or fewer employees. States are encouraged to adopt this or an equivalent policy. State designees shall advise the Regional Administrator of their intention within 30 days.

States that adopt an identical or alternative policy should submit appropriate plan documentation. States wishing to pilot alternatives may do so and should consider entering into limited Performance Agreements on this issue.

If you have any questions, please contact Helen Rogers or William Smith in the Office of General Industry Compliance Assistance at (202) 219-8031.