The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on December 17,
in a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates,
that DOJ is transferring responsibility for the prosecution of many
workplace violations to the Environmental Crimes Section of its
Environment and Natural Resources Division. The stated
purpose of the transfer of responsibility is to encourage utilizing
Title 18, the federal criminal code, to prosecute environmental
offenses arising out of worker safety incidents, in order to
enhance penalties and increase deterrence. The Environmental
Crimes Section can utilize prosecutions under such statutes as the
Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation & Recovery Act, Toxic
Substances Control Act and others when they may be applicable to
the manner in which workers were injured or their safety was
compromised. While the penalties under worker safety and
employer liability statutes are often in the misdemeanor category,
environmental crimes are often in
