New Higher Fines for OSHA Violations in Effect for 2024

Safety
Published

Violations of safety rules on jobsites 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 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% from 2023 to 2024, a far cry from the 7.7% 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.

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

The safety of residential construction workers is a top priority of NAHB and 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 jobsites.

Top OSHA violations for fiscal year 2023:

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

Protect your workers and your bottom line with free safety resources from NAHB.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Economics

Jul 03, 2025

Consumer Confidence Retreats in June

After a strong rebound in May, consumer confidence resumed its downward trend in June. Consumers remain concerned about the economy and labor market amid ongoing uncertainty, especially around tariffs.

Sponsored Content

Jul 02, 2025

5 Proven Strategies Smart Builders Use to Grow in Any Market

Sound Capital has worked with builders across market cycles for over 20 years. They have seen who thrived when others pulled back, and they've studied the strategies they used to scale while competitors were sidelined. Here are five things they all had in common.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jul 03, 2025

Solid Job Growth in June

The U.S. labor market continued to show resilience in June, with steady job gains led by state/local government and health care sectors.

Economics

Jul 02, 2025

Two or More Story Home Starts Rebound in 2024

Over half of new single-family homes built in 2024 were two or more stories, according the recent release of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). After declining in 2023, the share of homes started with two or more stories increased again in 2024, continuing the upward trend in place since 2020.

Economics

Jul 01, 2025

May Private Residential Construction Spending Dips

Private residential construction spending fell by 0.5% in May, marking the fifth straight month of decreases. This drop was primarily driven by reduced spending on single-family construction. Compared to a year ago, total spending was down 6.7%, as the housing sector continues to navigate the economic uncertainty stemming from ongoing tariff concerns and elevated mortgage rates.