The Department of Labor is updating the criteria for OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, expanding it to include violations of all hazards and standards across all industries. Doug Parker, OSHA assistant secretary, said the agency’s past criteria were “unnecessarily artificial and were not reaching employers who were committing repeat willful violations.” OSHA estimates SVEP — which concentrates inspections on employers who have several willful, repeated or failure-to-abate violations — includes roughly 500 employers currently.
