A person may not knowingly make a false certification, false representation, or false statement in an application, plan, record, report, or other document that is filed or required to be kept under this title. A person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both.

Unless the Commissioner or an authorized representative of the Commissioner gives written approval, a person may not give advance notice of an inspection to be made under this title. A person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both.

If an employer willfully violates any provision of this title, an order passed under this title, or a regulation adopted to carry out this title and the violation caused death to an employee, on conviction the employer is subject to: for a first offense, a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both; or for a subsequent offense, a fine not exceeding $20,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or both.

For the purpose of this subsection, a violation is considered to be a serious violation if there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a condition that exists or a practice, means, method, operation, or process that has been adopted or is in use, unless the employer did not and with the exercise of reasonable diligence could not know of the violation. The Commissioner shall assess a civil penalty against an employer who receives a citation for a serious violation of this title, an order passed under this title, or a regulation adopted to carry out this title. The Commissioner shall assess a civil penalty against an employer who violates a requirement for posting imposed under this title. The Commissioner may assess a civil penalty against an employer who: willfully or repeatedly violates this title, an order passed under this title, or a regulation adopted to carry out this title; or receives a citation for a violation of a provision of this title, an order passed under this title, or a regulation adopted to carry out this title and there is a specific determination that the violation is not of a serious nature. The Commissioner may assess a civil penalty against an employer who does not correct a violation for which a citation is issued within the period set under this title for correction.

Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a civil penalty under § 5–809 of this subtitle may not exceed: before July 15, 2025, $16,131 for each violation; and beginning July 15, 2025, the amount set by the Commissioner under subsection (b) of this section for each violation; and if an employer does not correct a violation within the period allowed for correction: before July 15, 2025, $16,131 for each day that the violation continues; and beginning July 15, 2025, the amount set by the Commissioner under subsection (b) of this section for each day that the violation continues. A civil penalty for a willful or repeated violation of a provision of this title, an order passed under this title, or a regulation adopted to carry out this title may not exceed: before July 15, 2025, $161,323 for each violation; and beginning July 15, 2025, the amount set by the Commissioner under subsection (b) of this section for each violation. A civil penalty for a willful violation of a provision of this title, an order passed under this title, or a regulation adopted to carry out this title may not be less than: before July 15, 2025, $11,162; and beginning July 15, 2025, the amount set by the Commissioner under subsection (b) of this section. Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, beginning January 1, 2025, and each calendar year thereafter, the Commissioner shall increase the minimum and maximum penalties in effect under subsection (a) of this section by increasing each civil penalty amount by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers or a successor index published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics as necessary to comply with federal law. The adjustment under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be effective July 15 each year. Before the Commissioner assesses a civil penalty under § 5–809 of this subtitle, the Commissioner shall consider the appropriateness of the penalty in relation to: the size of the business of the employer against whom the penalty is to be assessed; the gravity of the violation for which the penalty is to be assessed; the good faith of the employer; the history of violations by the employer; the injury and illness experience of the employer; the existence and quality of a safety and training program; the actual harm to human health including injury or illness; the extent to which the current violation is part of a recurrent pattern of the same or similar type of violation; and the extent to which the existence of the violation was known to the employer but remained not corrected.

If a civil penalty that is assessed under this title is not paid in full within 30 days after the penalty becomes final, the Commissioner or the Central Collection Unit may proceed in the District Court to enforce payment. In a proceeding under this subsection, the Commissioner or the Central Collection Unit is entitled to judgment in the amount of the civil penalty that remains unpaid on a showing that: the penalty was assessed against the defendant; the penalty has become final; no appeal is pending; the penalty is wholly or partly unpaid; and the defendant: was duly served with a copy of the citation in accordance with the applicable regulations of the Commissioner; or contested the citation for which the penalty was assessed.

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, each civil penalty under this title shall be paid into the General Fund of the State. The revenues from the civil penalties assessed against a public body under this title shall be distributed to a special fund to be used only for the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Program.