OSHA Stays Civil Proceedings Pending Criminal Prosecution

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has directed an administrative law judge to stay civil enforcement proceedings pending a potential criminal prosecution against an employer. See Sec’y of Labor v. Aerospace Mfg. CT Systems, LLC, OSHRC, No. 11-0315, September 22, 2011.

The case arose out of the death of an employee who was struck in the head when part of a machine he had installed came loose. Based on its investigation, the Department of Labor cited the employer with a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSH Act”) and referred the case to the Justice Department for potential criminal actions based on the alleged willful violations connected with the employee’s death and for making a false statement.

The administrative law judge denied the Department of Labor’s request that the civil proceedings be stayed pending the potential criminal proceedings. On review, the Commission considered the balance between competing interests and the differences between the civil and criminal discovery processes and granted the stay.

This case serves to remind employers that certain violations of the OSH Act can result in the Department of Justice filing criminal charges. OSH Act criminal actions have a five-year statute of limitations and are tried in the same manner as other federal criminal cases. The criminal evidentiary rules and burden of proof apply and there is a right to trial by jury. Additionally, corporations can be held criminally liable for the actions of their agents.

An employer whose willful violation of the OSH Act causes the death of an employee may be punished by a fine up to $10,000 or six months’ imprisonment or both. Upon a second offense, the punishment doubles to $20,000 or one year imprisonment or both.

The Criminal Fine Enforcement Act (“CFRA”) increases criminal fines available for all federal criminal offenses. As applied, the CFRA allows for at maximum $250,000 fine against an individual who is convicted of a crime resulting in death. For persons other than individuals, the maximum fine is $500,000. The CFRA also imposes additional fines for defaulting on the payment of fines.

The OSH Act also contains other criminal sanctions. For example, people are prohibited from giving advance notice of an inspection, it is a crime to make a false statement or file false reports, and it is a crime to interfere with a compliance officer by using force.