OSHA Issues New Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreements Directive
From OSHA QuickTakes –
OSHA issued a new compliance directive June 22 that updates the agency’s directive for administering Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreements (CSAs) with employers. The new guidelines are part of the agency’s emphasis on using corporate-wide or enterprise-wide settlement agreements as part of its strategy for leveraging limited resources to accomplish the broadest possible compliance.
“OSHA has made limited use of CSAs in recent years,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels. “However, we believe that the revised directive will be an effective tool to secure worker safety and health protections. Through an employer’s formal agreement to abate serious hazards at multiple facilities, CSAs are an improvement over traditional enforcement measures that could take much longer.”
The new directive emphasizes CSAs as a strategy for leveraging the agency’s resources to accomplish the greater compliance. OSHA has used CSAs as a compliance tool to more effectively address specific topics for employers who have a significant pattern of non-compliance with the OSH Act across multiple site locations including cases that fall under the increased scrutiny of the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). Agreements are now required to include a termination date or sunset clause with a maximum of two years from the settlement date. OSHA posts Corporate-wide Settlement Agreements on its Web site.