OSHA’s Five Year Look Back Period Cap No Longer Enforced

Prior to 2015, OSHA’s Field Operations Manual states that an employer may be cited for a repeat violation if “the citation is issued within 3 years of the final order date of the previous citation or within 3 years of the final abatement date, whichever is later.” In simple language this meant that OSHA may look back no further than three years for citations to cite an employer for a repeat violation. This time period was increased to five years in 2015.