Monetary Penalties and Appeals, Chapter 296-900 WAC, Administrative Rules

Status

The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) filed a Permanent Rulemaking (CR-103) on January 16, 2025, to update how base penalties are calculated in order to make penalties more effective in preventing employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards. This permanent rulemaking addresses concerns raised through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) State Activities Mandated Measures (SAMM) report, which indicates that Washington penalties continue to be below the national average.

DOSH is tying base penalty increases to inflation, and it is effective February 17, 2025.

See all the rulemaking activity for Monetary Penalties and Appeals on our L&I Rulemaking page.

Learn more about our rulemaking process and terminology.

Background

OSHA issued new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in preventing employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements. OSHA now has the authority to cite certain types of violations as “instance-by-instance citations” for cases where it has been identified “high-gravity” serious violations.

Failure to adopt rules to respond to the change in OSHA policies could result in the suspension of Washington’s State Plan approval and/or federal funding.

Meetings & Timeline
Rulemaking timeline
Activity Date
Filed CR-101 Preproposal Statement of Inquiry April 16, 2024
Virtual Stakeholder Meetings ​ August 7 & 12, 2024
Filed CR-102 Proposed Rulemaking September 3, 2024
Public Hearings October 9, 2024 – 9:30 a.m.​
October 10, 2024 – 3:00 p.m.​
Public Comment Due November 1, 2024 5:00 p.m.
Filed CR-103 Permanent Rulemaking​​ January 16, 2025​
Effective Date​ February 17, 2025​

Meeting materials

Rule Drafts & Documents

Rule adoption

Permanent rule filing

Proposed rule filing

Preproposal rule filing


Staff contacts

For rulemaking questions, please contact:
Carmyn.Shute@Lni.wa.gov

For technical questions, please contact:
Matthew.Ludwick@Lni.wa.gov or Terry.Walley@Lni.wa.gov

Get updates via email

If you would like to receive email updates regarding this proposed rulemaking project and future stakeholder meetings, please sign up for our email updates.