Channel 5 News Features Jon Hyman on Increased OSHA Fines

Channel 5 News interviewed partner Jon Hyman on OSHA and the recent 78% increase in its penalties. Jon focused his remarks on the impact these increased fines have on the small-business owner.

While big businesses might be able to handle the larger price tags, labor and employment attorney Jon Hyman told newsnet5.com that small businesses would be disproportionately affected by the large increase in fines.

“For a small business to potentially be staring down the barrel of $125,000 per violation …” Hyman said. “it could be catastrophic.”

He said he was also surprised to learn that while the law goes into effect Monday, the fines could be applied retroactively to related violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.

“It was really troubling to me and it should be troubling to businesses,” said Hyman.

Hyman said it’s not just big industrial employers or construction companies that should take note of the new penalties.“OSHA touches every employer in multiple ways and so any employer that thinks that this doesn’t impact them needs to rethink it,” he said.

You can watch the entire segment here. It was the lead story during the five o’clock news, and replayed at six o’clock. You can also read Jon’s blog post on the topic, which was the genesis for the interview.