OSHA Releases Severe Violator Enforcement Program Directive

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is implementing a new Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP).

The new Severe Violator Enforcement Program is intended to focus OSHA enforcement resources on "inspecting employers who  have demonstrated indifference to their OSH ACT obligations by committing willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations."  This supplemental enforcement tool includes increased OSHA inspections in these worksites, including mandatory OSHA follow-up inspections, and inspections of other worksites of the same employer where similar hazards and deficiencies may be present.  The SVEP will become effective within the next 45 days. The SVEP replaces OSHA's Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP).

To read the new directive in its entirety, see the attached file.