(04/21/2010)-The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia April 16 upheld a final rule that allows employers to be held liable on a per-employee basis for failing to provide the proper personal protective equipment and training to workers.

The plaintiffs in the case alleged that the Secretary of Labor did not have the authority to penalize employers for each separate violation. A three-judge panel rejected that argument, saying that the Secretary of Labor has authority over both the regulations issued and the enforcement of those regulations, including the authority to allow employers to be held liable per each instance of failure to provide proper training or equipment in willful and egregious cases.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the rule is meant to clearly define the remedy for violations, but in comments filed during the proposed rule phase, ABC pointed out that the rule fails to clarify that the per-employee penalty system is only supposed to be used for flagrant violations.

Despite the concerns of ABC and other organizations, the per-employer penalty rule went into effect in December 2008 and OSHA will retain the ability to cite any employers for each violation when failing to offer the correct equipment or training.

For more information, contact Sean Thurman at ABC, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .