HOW TO MANAGE COMPLIANCE FOR MULTILOCATION BUSINESSES

For business owners, compliance in one location is complicated.  We get that.  But the complexity of the task of compliance multiplies by geometric proportions when you have 2, 3 or even 10 or more business locations.

Compliance responsibilities are extremely multifaceted with the number of agencies charged with the responsibility of keeping people safe and fairly treated.  Consider the following:

• physical facilities and the safety of workers within them – think Occupational Safety and Health Administration – OSHA;
• employees and contractors – think Department of Labor – DOL ;
• consumer interactions – think Federal Trade Commission –  FTC ;
• chemical inventory and emissions – think Environmental Protection Agency – EPA ;

And all of this is times two when you consider state agencies regulating licensing, in addition to the above-named regulatory spheres.

Emanating from each regulatory body is the ever-present threat of expensive financial penalties, or worse, the mandate to close your business altogether if you consistently ignore or fail to follow certain regulations.

OSHA penalties have increased from $13,494 per violation to $13,653 per violation.  Civil monetary penalties assessed and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have increased in accordance with a required annual inflation adjustment.  A final rule was recently issued by the DOL which became effective January 15, 2021.  This means that any penalties assessed after January 15, 2021 will be subject to the increase.  Specifically, penalties for OSHA violations are as follows:

• OSHA’s maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations will increase from $13,494 per violation to $13,653 per violation.
• The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase from $134,937 per violation to $136,532 per violation.
• Posting violations increased from $13,494 per violation to $13,653 per violation.
• Failure to abate violations increased from $13,494 per day to $13,653 per day.

With a possible development of a new COVID standard and an anticipated increase in enforcement under the new administration, businesses would do well to enhance their due diligence efforts and assure that both their compliance plans and processes are in place and up to date to avoid incurring any penalties.

Recall when, a little over a year ago, the Federal Trade Commission undercover inspections of funeral homes resulted in 90 funeral homes being cited for noncompliance with the Funeral Rule.  Each of those funeral businesses was facing a possible enforcement penalty of $43,280 PER VIOLATION!

When you have multiple business locations, depending upon how you have established your organizational structure, the penalties resulting from the noncompliance of just one of your business locations, may affect your other locations.  Risk management assessment includes a solid review of your compliance program in each of your locations.  Regulatory Support Services exists to support you in this aspect of your business operations.  Contact us for a free estimate related to how we can help you stay compliant in all your business locations.