More companies and industries are at risk of falling under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) now that the Labor Department agency has broadly expanded its enforcement scope.

Changes to the SVEP announced in September aim “[t]o strengthen enforcement and improve compliance with workplace safety standards and reduce worker injuries and illnesses,” said OSHA in a press release. In practical terms, compliance officers will want to closely reevaluate and fortify their workplace health and safety culture or risk the enhanced enforcement penalties and compliance obligations that will now follow.

OSHA first established the SVEP in 2010 to inspect employers that commit “willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations” under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act. The agency’s revised program replaces the 2010 version and remains in effect until canceled or superseded.