October 17, 2013. If an employer is found to be in violation of an OSHA safety standard that affects multiple employees ("exposed employees") in the workplace at the same time, rather than citing the employer for a single violation, OSHA may multiply the violation times the number of potentially "exposed employees" and significantly increase the size of the penalty to be assessed. Because OSHA's ability to assess large penalties is limited by federal law, the "affected employee" calculation method is viewed as a path to circumvent the law. For example, if an employer is not enforcing the requirement to lockout/tagout equipment in the workplace, a $7,000 penalty can be multiplied by the number of workers on the manufacturing floor exposed to the dangers of failing to enforce such a program. You do the math! This also demonstrates an employer's need to make sure mandated safety programs are in place and enforced in the workplace at all times. If you are interested in learning more, contact Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712.226.4000.