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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 654.086 (2026)

Civil penalty for violations; classification of violations; penalty adjustments; payment and disposition of penalty moneys; reporting

✓ current as of May 2026
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      654.086 Civil penalty for violations; classification of violations; penalty adjustments; payment and disposition of penalty moneys; reporting. (1) The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services or the authorized representative of the director has the authority to assess civil penalties as provided by this section for violation of the requirements of a state occupational safety or health statute or the lawful rules, standards or orders adopted under the statute, as follows:

      (a)(A) Any employer who receives a citation for a serious violation of such requirements shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $15,625, but not less than $1,116, for each violation.

      (B) If the serious violation caused or contributed to the death of an employee, the civil penalty amount shall be increased to not more than $50,000, but not less than $20,000, for each violation.

      (b) Any employer who receives a citation for a violation of such requirements, and such violation is specifically determined not to be of a serious nature, may be assessed a civil penalty, not to exceed $15,625, for each violation.

      (c)(A) Any employer who willfully or repeatedly violates such requirements may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $156,259, but not less than $11,162, for each willful or repeated violation.

      (B) If an employer’s willful or repeated violation caused or contributed to the death of an employee, the civil penalty amount shall be increased to not more than $250,000, but not less than $50,000, for each willful or repeated violation.

      (C) In determining whether a violation is repeated for purposes of this subsection, the director shall consider the employer’s history of violating the requirements of a state occupational safety or health statute or the lawful rules, standards or orders adopted under the statute.

      (d) Any employer who receives a citation, as provided in ORS 654.071 (4), for failure to correct a violation may be assessed a civil penalty, not to exceed $15,625, for each day during which the violation continues.

      (e) Any employer who knowingly makes any false statement, representation or certification regarding the correction of a violation shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than $100.

      (f) Any employer who violates any of the posting requirements, as prescribed under the provisions of ORS 654.001 to 654.295, 654.412 to 654.423 and 654.750 to 654.780, may be assessed a civil penalty for each violation.

      (g) Any person who violates the provisions of ORS 654.082 (2) or (3) shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than $100 for each violation.

      (h) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this subsection, an employer who substantially fails to comply with ORS 654.174 (1) shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than $250 for each violation.

      (i) Any insurer or self-insured employer who violates any provision of ORS 654.097, or any rule or order carrying out ORS 654.097, shall be assessed a civil penalty. Each violation, or each day a violation continues, shall be considered a separate offense.

      (2) For the purposes of ORS 654.001 to 654.295, 654.412 to 654.423 and 654.750 to 654.780 a serious violation exists in a place of employment if there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a condition which exists, or from one or more practices, means, methods, operations or processes which have been adopted or are in use, in such place of employment unless the employer did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the violation.

      (3) Civil penalties assessed by the Department of Consumer and Business Services against an employer for repeated violations of any of the following may not receive a penalty adjustment, based on employer size, that reduces the amount of the civil penalty assessed against the employer, unless the penalty adjustment is conditioned upon the employer agreeing to comply with additional abatement measures as determined by the department:

      (a) A willful violation under subsection (1)(c) of this section; and

      (b) A serious violation resulting in a work-related fatality.

      (4) The director shall, not later than January 15 of each year, adjust the amount of civil penalties that may be imposed under this section to account for the percentage increase or decrease, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or its successor.

      (5) When an order assessing a civil penalty becomes final by operation of law or on appeal, unless the amount of penalty is paid within 20 days after the order becomes final, it constitutes a judgment and may be recorded with the county clerk in any county of this state. The clerk shall thereupon record the name of the person incurring the penalty and the amount of the penalty in the County Clerk Lien Record. The penalty provided in the order so recorded shall become a lien upon the title to any interest in property owned by the person against whom the order is entered, and execution may be issued upon the order in the same manner as execution upon a judgment of a court of record.

      (6) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, civil penalties collected under ORS 654.001 to 654.295, 654.412 to 654.423 and 654.750 to 654.780 shall be paid into the Consumer and Business Services Fund.

      (7) Civil penalties assessed under this section for a violation of ORS 658.750 shall be credited to the Agricultural Worker Housing Development Account of the Oregon Housing Fund.

      (8) The director shall submit a report at least annually to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to business and labor that summarizes:

      (a) The total number and total amount of penalties assessed by the department;

      (b) The total number of appeals of citations, violations and penalty assessments filed with the department; and

      (c) The total number of inspections completed by the department, along with the scope of the inspections and the circumstances that led to the inspections. [1973 c.833 §21 (enacted in lieu of 654.050); 1981 c.696 §5; 1983 c.696 §22; 1985 c.423 §4; 1987 c.884 §56; 1989 c.962 §20; 1991 c.67 §159; 1991 c.570 §1; 1991 c.640 §2; 1995 c.640 §1; 2001 c.310 §4; 2007 c.432 §2; 2017 c.238 §2; 2021 c.525 §25; 2023 c.126 §2]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1975–2022 · leading case: Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 341 P.3d 701 (Or. 2014).
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Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 341 P.3d 701 (Or. 2014). · cites it 37× “With those considerations in mind, we turn to the phrase “reasonable diligence” as it is used in ORS 654.086 (2). On its face, the term is very similar to the sort of terms that the court has regarded as delegative in prior cases.”
Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 295 P.3d 660 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 7× “8 Relying on the language in ORS 654.086(2) providing that a serious violation may be assessed “unless the employer did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the violation [,]” employer contends that “reasonable diligence does not…”
Ass'n of Oregon Loggers, Inc. v. Dep't of Ins. & Fin., 883 P.2d 859 (Or. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 6× “” *598 ORS 654.086 provides, as material: “(1) The director or the authorized representative of the director is hereby granted the authority to assess civil penalties as provided by this section for violation of the requirements of any state occupational safety or health statute…”
OR-OSHA v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 494 P.3d 959 (Or. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “A “serious violation” under the OSEA occurs “if there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a condition which exists, or from one or more practices, means, methods, operations or processes which have been adopted or are in use, in…”
Nulph v. Bd. of Parole, 381 P.3d 948 (Or. Ct. App. 2016). “There, the agency, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA), was charged with administering ORS 654.086(2). That statute provides that an employer is liable for a “serious violation” of the Oregon Safe Employment Act (OSEA) and its implementing rules “unless…”
OR-OSHA v. Loy Clark Pipeline, Co., 514 P.3d 544 (Or. Ct. App. 2022). “The legislature, in defining a “serious violation,” set the unit of measurement as “a condition which exists, or * * * one or more practices, means, methods, operations or processes which have been adopted or are in use.”
Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CC & L Roofing Co., 273 P.3d 178 (Or. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 4× “ORS 654.086. In its request for hearing, CC asserted that it did not have actual knowledge of Tatum’s violation and, further, that it should not be held to have had constructive knowledge of the violation, in light of Tatum’s misconduct in failing to comply with CC’s safety…”
Or. Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 432 P.3d 321 (Or. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 13× “031 ; ORS 654.086(1). The amount of a penalty depends on, among other things, whether the violation is "serious.”
Accident Prevention Div. v. Asana, 821 P.2d 432 (Or. Ct. App. 1991). “ORS 654.086(1) authorizes APD’s director to assess various civil penalties for violation of any occupational safety or health statute, rule, standard or order.”
Accident Prevention Div. v. Hoffman Constr. Co., 667 P.2d 543 (Or. Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 5× “ORS 654.086 is a penalty section; it says nothing about when a citation may be issued.”
Cascade Forest Prods., Inc. v. Accident Prevention Div., 653 P.2d 574 (Or. Ct. App. 1982). “If petitioner prevails on remand, APD will withdraw Citation 2, and it will no longer be an issue. We need not determine the validity of Citation 2 unless a new final order from the agency makes it necessary to do so.”
Accident Prevention Div. v. Sunrise Seed Co., 552 P.2d 558 (Or. Ct. App. 1976). “071(4), and, in fact, did not correct the condition until the expiration of an additional seven-day period, the Accident Prevention Division (an entity created by the Oregon Safe Employment Act) imposed a penalty of $25 per day for a total of $175 under the provisions of ORS…”
Show all 18 citing cases →
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 654.086(1) — 4 cases
Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 341 P.3d 701 (Or. 2014). “With those considerations in mind, we turn to the phrase “reasonable diligence” as it is used in ORS 654.086 (2). On its face, the term is very similar to the sort of terms that the court has regarded as delegative in prior cases.”
Accident Prevention Div. v. Asana, 821 P.2d 432 (Or. Ct. App. 1991). “ORS 654.086(1) authorizes APD’s director to assess various civil penalties for violation of any occupational safety or health statute, rule, standard or order.”
Accident Prevention Div. v. Hoffman Constr. Co., 667 P.2d 543 (Or. Ct. App. 1983). “ORS 654.086 is a penalty section; it says nothing about when a citation may be issued.”
Or. Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 432 P.3d 321 (Or. Ct. App. 2018). “031 ; ORS 654.086(1). The amount of a penalty depends on, among other things, whether the violation is "serious.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 654.086(2) — 8 cases
Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 341 P.3d 701 (Or. 2014). “With those considerations in mind, we turn to the phrase “reasonable diligence” as it is used in ORS 654.086 (2). On its face, the term is very similar to the sort of terms that the court has regarded as delegative in prior cases.”
Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div. v. CBI Servs., Inc., 295 P.3d 660 (Or. Ct. App. 2013). “8 Relying on the language in ORS 654.086(2) providing that a serious violation may be assessed “unless the employer did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the violation [,]” employer contends that “reasonable diligence does not…”
OR-OSHA v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 494 P.3d 959 (Or. Ct. App. 2021). “A “serious violation” under the OSEA occurs “if there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a condition which exists, or from one or more practices, means, methods, operations or processes which have been adopted or are in use, in…”
Nulph v. Bd. of Parole, 381 P.3d 948 (Or. Ct. App. 2016). “There, the agency, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA), was charged with administering ORS 654.086(2). That statute provides that an employer is liable for a “serious violation” of the Oregon Safe Employment Act (OSEA) and its implementing rules “unless…”
OR-OSHA v. Loy Clark Pipeline, Co., 514 P.3d 544 (Or. Ct. App. 2022). “The legislature, in defining a “serious violation,” set the unit of measurement as “a condition which exists, or * * * one or more practices, means, methods, operations or processes which have been adopted or are in use.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 654.086(a) — 1 case
G & G Elec. & Plumbing Distributors, Inc. v. Oregon Occupational Saf. & Health Div., 869 P.2d 378 (Or. Ct. App. 1994).
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 654.086(l)(a) — 1 case
Accident Prevention Div. v. Hoffman Constr. Co., 667 P.2d 543 (Or. Ct. App. 1983). “ORS 654.086 is a penalty section; it says nothing about when a citation may be issued.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 654.086(l)(d) — 1 case
Accident Prevention Div. v. Sunrise Seed Co., 552 P.2d 558 (Or. Ct. App. 1976). “071(4), and, in fact, did not correct the condition until the expiration of an additional seven-day period, the Accident Prevention Division (an entity created by the Oregon Safe Employment Act) imposed a penalty of $25 per day for a total of $175 under the provisions of ORS…”
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