Violations of safety rules on job sites are now more expensive, as the Labor Department announced its annual cost-of-living adjustments to OSHA civil penalties for 2024. The new penalty amounts went into effect on Monday, Jan. 15.

OSHA’s maximum penalties for violations will increase from $15,625 per violation to $16,131 per violation. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase from $156,259 per violation to $161,323 per violation.

The increases represent an annual increase of around 3.2 percent from 2023 to 2024, a far cry from the 7.7 percent increase OSHA announced in penalty increases from 2022 to 2023. The penalty increases are tied to the annual cost-of-living increases across the federal government and to inflation.

The safety of residential construction workers should be the top priority of every builder, remodeler and contractor. The most common types of construction site injuries are fall injuries. This aligns with OSHA’s most-cited violations on job sites.

Top OSHA violations for fiscal year 2023:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements: 7,271 violations
2. Hazard Communication (Chemicals): 3,213 violations
3. Ladders: 2,978 violations
4. Scaffolding: 2,859 violations
5. Powered Industrial Trucks: 2,561 violations
6. Lockout/Tagout: 2,554 violations
7. Respiratory Protection: 2,481 violations
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements: 2,112 violations
9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection: 2,074 violations
10. Machine Guarding: 1,644 violations

Visit the OSHA Penalties page and read the final rule for more information.