By Robert G. Chadwick, Jr.,  Partner, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP.

As noted in a 2016 post on this blog, one strategy employed by OSHA under the Obama administration was to publicly shame cited businesses in news releases on the agency’s website.  With Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017, this practice abruptly stopped, at least with respect to citations with lower dollar amounts.  Enforcement activity is nevertheless moving forward. Amongst the OSHA fines proposed since January 20^th are the following (publicized citations are highlighted in bold):

• 1/31/2017    $159,342
• 2/2/2017      $152,099
• 22/2017       $100,450
• 2/6/2017      $382,605
• 2/10/2017    $112,191
• 2/14/2017    $159,342
• 2/16/2017     $126,117
• 2/22/2017    $148,297
• 2/22/2017    $202,071
• 2/22/2017    $197,187
• 2/23/2017    $139,424
• 2/24/2017    $150,000
• 2/27/2017    $129,667
• 3/03/2017    $156,625
• 3/06/2017    $102,306
• 3/08/2017    $103,576
• 3/08/2017    $128,016
• 3/10/2017    $182,000
• 3/16/2017    $159,343
• 3/16/2017    $117,335
• 3/20/2017    $113,533
• 3/22/2017    $128,746
• 3/24/2017    $115,714
• 3/31/2017    $149,385
• 3/31/2017    $176,003
• 4/06/2017    $124,709
• 4/6/2017      $145,257
• 4/11/2017    $1,475,813
• 4/12/2017    $273,918
• 4/12/2017    $186,506
• 4/12/2017    $108,461
• 4/13/2017    $139,424
• 4/13/2017    $151,973
• 4/13/2017    $126,749
• 4/19/2017    $137,615
• 4/21/2017    $200,628
• 4/21/2017    $152,101
• 4/20/2017    $101,400
• 4/24/2017    $304,746
• 4/24/2017    $134,445
• 4/26/2017    $174,014
• 4/28/2017    $249,564
• 4/28/2017    $133,636
• 5/04/2017   $569,463
• 5/08/2017    $227,073
• 5/11/2017    $103,000
• 5/16/2017    $140,129
• 5/18/2017    $279,578
• 5/18/2017    $109,553
• 5/19/2017    $164,775
• 5/19/2017    $136,709
• 5/19/2017    $226,431
• 5/26/2017    $293,235
• 5/30/2017    $107,385
• 6/6/2017      $159,341
• 6/7/2017      $126,751
• 6/9/2017      $122,223
• 6/13/2017     $714,412
• 6/14/2017     $126,749
• 6/15/2017     $145,703
• 6/22/2017     $185,055
• 6/26/2017     $220,012
• 7/05/2017     $104,572
• 7/06/2017     $262,121
• 7/10/2017     $142,715
• 7/12/2017     $166,225
• 7/14/2017     $128,562
• 8/1/2017       $1,523,710

Since the new Secretary of Labor was only sworn in on April 28, 2017, it may be some time before OSHA’s enforcement strategy under the Trump administration is developed.  In the meantime, employers should expect business as usual with the agency, albeit without the public shaming practiced by the previous administration.