Supreme Court Knocks Out Last Prop Of OSHA Rule On Statute Of Limitations

On February 27, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States in Gabelli v. SEC unanimously disapproved of the so-called discovery rule for postponing the running of a statute of limitations when a federal government agency seeks a civil penalty. The Court held that the limitations period begins to run once a violation occurs, and is not postponed until the agency discovers or reasonably should have discovered the violation. (See "Supreme Court Rules SEC Has Five Years to Seek Penalties" for more information.)

Although the Gabelli decision did not directly deal with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, it effectively eliminates what might have remained of the OSH Review Commission's 1993 Johnson Controls decision, which had endorsed the use of a discovery rule in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordkeeping cases.

Together with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's decision in AKM LLC dba Volks Constructors v. Secretary of Labor, 675 F.3d 752 (D.C. Cir. 2012)...