2023 OSHA safety trends: What every employer should know

In 2020 the world of work was turned on its head thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Health and safety standards in the workplace were examined like never before as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was under immense pressure to keep workers healthy. Even though many of the pandemic safety processes like masking, quarantining, and weekly COVID tests have eased in 2022, the increased scrutiny on occupational safety has remained. In fact, OSHA is actually ramping up its efforts for 2023.

And that includes fines: Effective January 17, OSHA's maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious-violations will increase to $15,625, up from $14,502. In addition, the maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase to $156,259, up from the previous $145,027.

The Biden administration has requested an OSHA budget of $701 million for 2023 – a full $89 million increase over 2022’s budget. According to Adecco health and safety experts Susan Shemanski (Vice President of Risk Management) and Erin Whitmore (Associate General Counsel of Employment and Litigation), we can expect to see that budget increase used to hire more inspectors and carry out an exceptional number of inspections.

“In 2022, we were averaging about 5,500 inspections per month,” explained Shemanski. “From everything we're reading, we're expecting the inspections to continue to increase as OSHA’s been actively recruiting and training people to be OSHA inspectors.”

An unprecedented number of inspections will ultimately lead to an unprecedented number of fines if businesses are not prepared. Download our white paper through the chat box at the right and learn more about what's to come. Also, find out why partnering with a knowledgeable staffing partner, like Adecco, will help you be ready when OSHA inspectors come knocking at your door. Here’s everything you need to know to be prepared in 2023.