OSHA Severe Violator Enforcement Program

Despite the risks, hefty fines, and reputational damage, companies continue to violate OSHA standards either deliberately or unintentionally. Often, these violations are not remedied, even after continual warnings and fines.

For this reason, OSHA created the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) in 2010. OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) concentrates on inspecting employers who have demonstrated indifference to their OSH Act obligations by continuing to commit willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations. The SVEP was created to replace OSHA's Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP).

Per the Severe Violator Enforcement Program White Paper (2013), for a case to meet SVEP criteria, it must meet one of the following criteria:

• Fatality/catastrophe inspection with one or more willful or repeated violations or failure-to-abate notices (SVEP-fatality)
• Non-fatality/catastrophe inspection with two or more willful or repeated violations or failure-to-abate notices that are high gravity violations related to High-Emphasis Hazards (SVEP-HEH)
• Non-fatality/catastrophe inspection with three or more willful or repeated violations or failure-to-abate notices that are high gravity violations related to the potential release of a highly hazardous chemical (SVEP-PSM)
• Egregious (such as per-instance citations) case (SVEP-egregious)

OSHA's enforcement does not just end with citations. Its comprehensive SVEP ensures that the organization follows up on offenders. This illustrates OSHA's dedication to worker safety and serves as a reminder that OSHA's services are comprehensive and far-reaching.

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