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49 CFR Hazmat Penalties

Not in compliance? Your bottom line just took a harder hit.

As they do every year, the US Department of Transportation increased civil penalties for compliance violations, effective January 11, 2021. These violations, and their respective fines, are found in 49 CFR Part 107, Appendix A.

The new civil penalties for 2021 are:

  • The maximum civil penalty for a hazardous material shipping violation is $83,439 per violation per day.
  • Violations that result in serious illness, substantial property damage, or death are now $194,691 per violation per day.
  • Finally, the minimum penalty for failure to provide hazmat training to a hazmat employee is $502 per employee per day.

Remember, providing training is not enough. You can get penalized for not documenting training as well. Training records must be kept for all areas of training outlined in 172.704. 

Also, most training programs cover the general awareness and security awareness categories. Safety and Forklift training (if needed) would be covered in companies OSHA Safety training. What often goes unnoticed is the function-specific training. 

Function-specific training must be done on-site. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be as simple as a supervisor watching an employee pack a box or put a package through the hazmat software. The supervisor verifies that the employee did everything correctly. Once that is complete, both parties sign off as the training record, and a document is issued showing the who, what, where, why, and how.

Need help with training or writing procedures for employees to follow? Contact our Regulatory Experts. We are happy to help.

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Karrie Ishmael, CDGP

Karrie Ishmael has been with ICC since 1988. She has contributed to ICC's growth in various capacities, including customer service, sales, and marketing. In her current role as ICC's Senior Regulatory Expert and SDS author, Karrie conducts hazardous materials training classes in 49 CFR, IATA, IMDG, TDG along with OSHA and WHMIS hazard communication courses. When not training, she writes safety data sheets for customers to comply with North American and European requirements. She actively participates in many associations, including DGAC, COSTHA and is the former chair of SCHC’s OSHA Alliance Committee.