OSHA is using a tactic that could cost companies with more than one facility a lot of pain.

OSHA penalties are higher when the agency considers them “repeat.” That usually means a facility was inspected and fined by OSHA before, and the same violation still existed on a re-inspection.

Now, if one facility owned by a company pays an OSHA fine, and the agency finds the same violation at another location owned by the same employer, the feds will consider that a repeat violation.

Example: Milk Specialties Co., of Whitehall, WI, faces $1.14 million in OSHA fines in connection with a Dec. 2008 inspection.

OSHA slapped Milk Specialties with 17 willful, 4 repeat and 17 serious citations. A willful citation is issued when OSHA finds intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, safety regulations.

Milk Specialties has been inspected by OSHA 15 times since 1974, including 4 inspections in Wisconsin between 2006 and 2008. Citations in those inspections resulted from many of the same safety and health hazards cited in the most recent inspection.

You can read more about the citations against the company here.