Monetary Penalties and Appeals, Chapter 296-900 WAC, Administrative Rules
Status
The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is conducting rulemaking to update several sections related to monetary penalties and appeals. This rulemaking is required under the Washington State Plan in order to remain at least as effective as the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
L&I filed a Proposed Rulemaking (CR-102) on September 3, 2024 to share the proposed rule language.
See all the rulemaking activity for Monetary Penalties and Appeals on our L&I Rulemaking page.
Learn more about our rulemaking process and terminology.
OSHA has issued new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in preventing employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements. OSHA now has the authority to cite certain types of violations as “instance-by-instance citations” for cases where it has been identified “high-gravity” serious violations.
L&I is conducting rulemaking to update how base penalties are calculated in order to make penalties more effective in preventing employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life- threatening hazards.
This proposed rulemaking will address concerns raised through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) State Activities Mandated Measures (SAMM) report, which indicates that Washington penalties continue to be below the national average. Failure to adopt rules to respond to the change in OSHA policies could result in the suspension of Washington’s State Plan approval and/or federal funding.
DOSH is proposing tying base penalty increases to inflation. In addition, state-initiated amendments proposed address other housekeeping edits in chapter 296-900 WAC, relating to penalties and appeals.
For information regarding the scheduled public hearings and public comment period, please see the “Meetings and Timelines” section.
| Activity | Date |
| Filed CR-101 Preproposal Statement of Inquiry | April 16, 2024 |
| Virtual Stakeholder Meetings | August 7 & 12, 2024 |
| Filed CR-102 Proposed Rulemaking | September 3, 2024 |
| Public Hearings | October 9 & 10, 2024 |
| Public Comment Due | November 1, 2024 5:00 p.m. |
Upcoming meetings
Wednesday, October 9, 2024 (virtual)
Pre-hearing overview: 9:00 a.m.
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Join electronically on October 9
To join by phone (audio only):
253-215-8782
Meeting ID: 845 6114 6952
Passcode: 9309637529
Thursday, October 10, 2024 (virtual)
Pre-hearing overview: 2:30 p.m.
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Join electronically on October 10
To join by phone (audio only):
253-215-8782
Meeting ID: 846 5075 9832
Passcode: 8256498162
L&I encourages the submittal of written comments, due by 5:00 p.m. on November 1, 2024.
Written comments must be sent to:
Carmyn Shute, Administrative Regulations Analyst
Department of Labor & Industries
Division of Occupational Safety and Health
PO Box 44620
Olympia, WA 98504-4620
Email: Carmyn.Shute@Lni.wa.gov
Fax: 360-902-5619
Meeting materials
Proposed rule filing
- CR-102 Proposed Rulemaking September 3, 2024
- CR-102 Proposed Rule Language September 3, 2024
Preproposal rule filing
- Preproposal Statement of Inquiry (CR-101) April 16, 2024
Staff contacts
For rulemaking questions, please contact:
Carmyn.Shute@Lni.wa.gov
For technical questions, please contact:
Matthew.Ludwick@Lni.wa.gov or Terry.Walley@Lni.wa.gov
Get updates via email
If you would like to receive email updates regarding this proposed rulemaking project and future stakeholder meetings, please sign up for our email updates.