                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ENFORCEMENT OF THIS TITLE AND STANDARDS, RULES OR REGULATIONS FOR SAFETY AND
HEALTH; ORDERS OF COMMISSIONER; PROCEEDINGS IN CIRCUIT COURT; INJUNCTIONS;
PENALTIES (§ 40.1-49.4)

A. 1. If the Commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that an employer has
violated any safety or health provision of Title 40.1 or any standard, rule or
regulation adopted pursuant thereto, he shall with reasonable promptness issue a
citation to the employer. Each citation shall be in writing and shall describe
with particularity the nature of the violation or violations, including a
reference to the provision of this title or the appropriate standards, rules or
regulations adopted pursuant thereto, and shall include an order of abatement
fixing a reasonable time for abatement of each violation.

   2. The Commissioner may prescribe procedures for calling to the
   employer&#8217;s attention de minimis violations which have no direct or
   immediate relationship to safety and health.

   3. No citation may be issued under this section after the expiration of six
   months following the occurrence of any alleged violation.

   4. (a) The Commissioner shall have the authority to propose civil penalties
   for cited violations in accordance with subsections G, H, I, and J. In
   determining the amount of any proposed penalty he shall give due consideration
   to the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the size of the business
   of the employer being charged, the gravity of the violation, the good faith of
   the employer, and the history of previous violations. In addition, the
   Commissioner shall have authority to assess interest on all past-due penalties
   and administrative costs incurred in the collection of penalties for such
   violations consistent with § 2.2-4805.

      b. After, or concurrent with, the issuance of a citation and order of
      abatement, and within a reasonable time after the termination of an
      inspection or investigation, the Commissioner shall notify the employer by
      certified mail, by commercial delivery service with signed and dated
      acknowledgment of delivery, or by personal service of the proposed penalty
      or that no penalty is being proposed. The proposed penalty shall be deemed
      to be the final order of the Commissioner and not subject to review by any
      court or agency unless, within 15 working days from the date of receipt of
      such notice, the employer notifies the Commissioner in writing that he
      intends to contest the citation, order of abatement or the proposed penalty
      or the employee or representative of employees has filed a notice in
      accordance with subsection B of this section and any such notice of proposed
      penalty, citation or order of abatement shall so state.

B. Any employee or representative of employees of an employer to whom a citation
and order of abatement has been issued may, within 15 working days from the time
of the receipt of the citation and order of abatement by the employer, notify
the Commissioner, in writing, that they wish to contest the abatement time
before the circuit court.

C. If the Commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that an employer has
failed to abate a violation for which a citation has been issued within the time
period permitted for its abatement, which time shall not begin to run until the
entry of a final order in the case of any contest as provided in subsection E of
this section initiated by the employer in good faith and not solely for delay or
avoidance of penalties, a citation for failure to abate will be issued to the
employer in the same manner as prescribed by subsection A. In addition, the
Commissioner shall notify the employer by certified mail, by commercial delivery
service with signed and dated acknowledgment of delivery, or by personal service
of such failure and of the penalty proposed to be assessed by reason of such
failure. If, within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the notice of
the proposed penalty, the employer fails to notify the Commissioner that he
intends to contest the citation or proposed assessment of penalty, the citation
and assessment as proposed shall be deemed a final order of the Commissioner and
not subject to review by any court or agency.

D. Civil penalties owed under this section shall be paid to the Commissioner for
deposit into the general fund of the Treasurer of the Commonwealth. The
Commissioner shall prescribe procedures for the payment of proposed assessments
of penalties which are not contested by employers. Such procedures shall include
provisions for an employer to consent to abatement of the alleged violation and
pay a proposed penalty or a negotiated sum in lieu of such penalty without
admission of any civil liability arising from such alleged violation.
			Final orders of the Commissioner or the circuit courts may be recorded,
enforced and satisfied as orders or decrees of a circuit court upon
certification of such orders by the Commissioner or the court as appropriate.

E. Upon receipt of a notice of contest of a citation, proposed penalty, order of
abatement or abatement time pursuant to subdivision A 4 (b) or subsection B or
C, the Commissioner shall immediately notify the attorney for the Commonwealth
for the jurisdiction wherein the violation is alleged to have occurred and shall
file a civil action with the circuit court. Upon issuance and service of
process, the circuit court shall promptly set the matter for hearing without a
jury. The circuit court shall thereafter issue a written order, based on
findings of fact and conclusions of law, affirming, modifying or vacating the
Commissioner&#8217;s citation or proposed penalty, or directing other
appropriate relief, and such order shall become final 21 days after its
issuance. The circuit court shall provide affected employees or their
representatives and employers an opportunity to participate as parties to
hearings under this subsection.

F. 1. In addition to the remedies set forth above, the Commissioner may file a
civil action with the clerk of the circuit court having equity jurisdiction over
the employer or the place of employment involved asking the court to temporarily
or permanently enjoin any conditions or practices in any place of employment
which are such that a danger exists which could reasonably be expected to cause
death or serious physical harm immediately or before the imminence of such
danger can be eliminated through the enforcement procedures otherwise provided
by this title. Any order issued under this section may require such steps to be
taken as may be necessary to avoid, correct or remove such imminent danger and
prohibit the employment or presence of any individual in locations or under
conditions where such imminent danger exists, except individuals whose presence
is necessary to avoid, correct or remove such imminent danger or to maintain the
capacity of a continuous process operation to resume normal operations without a
complete cessation of operations, or where a cessation of operations is
necessary, to permit such to be accomplished in a safe and orderly manner. No
order issued without prior notice to the employer shall be effective for more
than five working days. Whenever and as soon as the Commissioner concludes that
conditions or practices described in this subsection exist in any place of
employment and that judicial relief shall be sought, he shall immediately inform
the affected employer and employees of such proposed course of action.

   2. Any court described in this section shall also have jurisdiction, upon
   petition of the Commissioner or his authorized representative, to enjoin any
   violations of this title or the standards, rules or regulations promulgated
   thereunder.

   3. If the Commissioner arbitrarily or capriciously fails to seek relief under
   subdivision 1 of this subsection, any employee who may be injured by reason of
   such failure, or the representative of such employee, may bring an action
   against the Commissioner in a circuit court of competent jurisdiction for a
   writ of mandamus to compel the Commissioner to seek such an order and for such
   further relief as may be appropriate.

G. Any employer who has received a citation for a violation of any safety or
health provision of this title or any standard, rule or regulation promulgated
pursuant thereto and such violation is specifically determined not to be of a
serious nature may be assessed a civil penalty of up to $12,471, as such amount
may be adjusted as provided in subsection P, for each such violation.

H. Any employer who has received a citation for a violation of any safety or
health provision of this title or any standard, rule or regulation promulgated
pursuant thereto and such violation is determined to be a serious violation
shall be assessed a civil penalty of up to $12,471, as such amount may be
adjusted as provided in subsection P, for each such violation.

I. Any employer who fails to abate a violation for which a citation has been
issued within the period permitted for its abatement (which period shall not
begin to run until the entry of the final order of the circuit court) may be
assessed a civil penalty of not more than $12,471, as such amount may be
adjusted as provided in subsection P, for each day during which such violation
continues.

J. Any employer who willfully or repeatedly violates any safety or health
provision of this title or any standard, rule or regulation promulgated pursuant
thereto may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $124,709, as such
amount may be adjusted as provided in subsection P, for each such violation.

K. Any employer who willfully violates any safety or health provisions of this
title or standards, rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, and that
violation causes death to any employee, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a
fine of not more than $70,000 or by imprisonment for not more than six months,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. If the conviction is for a violation
committed after a first conviction of such person, punishment shall be a fine of
not more than $140,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both
such fine and imprisonment.

L. In any proceeding before a judge of a circuit court parties may obtain
discovery by the methods provided for in the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia.

M. No fees or costs shall be charged the Commonwealth by a court or any officer
for or in connection with the filing of the complaint, pleadings, or other
papers in any action authorized by this section or &#xA7; 40.1-49.5.

N. Every official act of the circuit court shall be entered of record and all
hearings and records shall be open to the public, except any information subject
to protection under the provisions of &#xA7; 40.1-51.4:1.

O. The provisions of Chapter 30 (&#xA7; 59.1-406 et seq.) of Title 59.1 shall be
considered safety and health standards of the Commonwealth and enforced as to
employers pursuant to this section by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

P. Beginning in 2018, the Commissioner annually shall adjust the maximum civil
penalties stated in subsections G through J each year by the percentage
increase, if any, in the United States Average Consumer Price Index for all
Urban Consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
United States Department of Labor, from its monthly average for the previous
calendar year. The amount of each adjustment to the maximum civil penalties
shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. The adjustments to the maximum
civil penalties shall be effective on each August 1. If the CPI-U is
discontinued or revised, such other historical index or computation approved by
the Commissioner shall be used for purposes of this section that would obtain
substantially the same result as would have been obtained if the CPI-U had not
been discontinued or revised.

HISTORY: 1979, c. 354; 1982, c. 412; 1989, c. 341; 1991, c. 153; 1992, c. 777;
2005, c. 681; 2017, cc. 221, 263; 2023, cc. 100, 101.