a business to pay just $1,000 for the heat-related death of 37-year-old Thomas Linkous, a construction worker who died of heat stroke. The case is still open as of July 15, so the company — Farrell Quality Carpentry Inc. — can still appeal that penalty, meaning it may end up even lower.The average fine for states with the strictest state-level OSHA penalties — like California, Washington, and Oregon — tends to be closer to $20,000, according to Gleason.
Gleason also noted that federal OSHA fines for worker deaths are significantly smaller than that of other federal agencies. "The average Environmental Protection Agency penalty is 10 times that of federal OSHA for a worker that dies," Gleason said."It's pretty weird, if you ask me." One major barrier to progress includes the slow pace at which the federal OSHA office can change its policies, Gleason said. He estimated it would take 10 years to update its heat-related safety guidelines, while states can do so far more quickly — within a single legislative session, even. The Department of Labor did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.
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