In 2010, OSHA began a program to identify certain employers as severe violators. Placement in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”) resulted in adverse publicity, multiple inspections, inspections of other facilities and higher-than-normal penalties. Not surprisingly, there were a number of criticisms of the program. One of them was that the program had no established way to get off it. OSHA has now issued formal guidance on this issue that can be found here. OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs (“DEP”) has determined that employers can get out of the program after three years from the final disposition of the inspection items that resulted in placement in the SVEP. Final disposition includes failures to contest the citation, settlements, unappealed Review Commission decisions, and Court of Appeals decisions. To escape the SVEP, the employer must have fully abated all SVEP-related citations at any of its establishments. All penalties must have been fully paid. For cases with national corporate-wide settlements, the DEP will handle requests for removal, and will consider all terms of the settlement (which usually would include safety programs and outside consultancies. See the Guidelines for Administering Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreements, here) For more local situations, the Regional Administrator or designee will have discretion to remove employers from the list.
