OSHA penalties are adjusted for inflation each January. Maximums currently exceed $16,000 per serious or other-than-serious violation and $165,000 per willful or repeated violation, with daily penalties for failing to fix a cited hazard. Inspections are triggered by imminent danger, fatalities and severe injuries, complaints, referrals, and targeted programs. Documented training and written safety programs are among the best defenses.
Key takeaways
- Penalty maximums are adjusted every year for inflation.
- Willful and repeat violations carry roughly 10 times the maximum of a serious violation.
- Employers must report fatalities within 8 hours and hospitalizations, amputations, or eye losses within 24 hours.
- OSHA may reduce penalties for small employers, good faith, and a clean history.
- Training records and written programs are often the first things an inspector asks for.
Types of OSHA violations
| Violation type | What it means | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Other-than-serious | Related to safety and health but unlikely to cause death or serious harm | Over $16,000 per violation |
| Serious | Substantial probability of death or serious physical harm, and the employer knew or should have known | Over $16,000 per violation |
| Failure to abate | A cited hazard wasn't corrected by the deadline | Over $16,000 per day beyond the abatement date |
| Willful | Intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the law | Over $165,000 per violation |
| Repeated | Same or similar violation cited within the past five years | Over $165,000 per violation |
Amounts are adjusted for inflation each year. See OSHA's penalties page for exact current figures. Willful violations that cause a worker's death can also lead to criminal prosecution.
What triggers an inspection
OSHA can't inspect every workplace, so it prioritizes:
- Imminent danger situations.
- Fatalities and severe injuries reported by employers.
- Worker complaints about hazards or violations.
- Referrals from other agencies, organizations, or the media.
- Targeted inspections of high-hazard industries, including emphasis programs for falls, trenching, and other hazards.
- Follow-up inspections to confirm hazards were corrected.
In construction, inspectors often stop when they can see a hazard from the street, like workers on a roof with no fall protection or an unshored trench.
Reporting requirements
- Within 8 hours: any work-related fatality.
- Within 24 hours: any work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
What happens during an inspection
- Opening conference: the compliance officer explains why they're there and the scope of the inspection.
- Walkaround: they tour the site, observe conditions, take photos and measurements, and may interview workers privately.
- Records review: expect requests for injury and illness logs, written programs (hazard communication, lockout/tagout, respiratory protection), and training records.
- Closing conference: they discuss apparent violations and possible ways to correct them.
Citations, if any, usually arrive later. Employers have 15 working days to contest them, and can request an informal conference to discuss settlement.
How to reduce your risk
- Train supervisors to see what inspectors see. An OSHA 30 course gives foremen and facility leads the knowledge to catch hazards on their daily walks.
- Give every worker OSHA 10. Workers who recognize hazards speak up before someone gets hurt.
- Keep your paperwork current. Many top citations, such as hazard communication, are about missing written programs and training records.
- Fix the big four first. Falls, struck-by, caught-in or between, and electrical hazards. See our Focus Four guide.
- Use the top 10 list as a checklist. See OSHA's most cited standards.
Training is cheaper than a citation. Get a quote for on-site OSHA 10 or 30.
Frequently asked questions
How much is an OSHA fine?
Maximum penalties are adjusted annually. They currently exceed $16,000 per serious or other-than-serious violation and $165,000 per willful or repeated violation. Check OSHA's penalties page for the current figures.
What triggers an OSHA inspection?
OSHA prioritizes imminent danger situations, then fatalities and severe injuries, worker complaints, referrals from other agencies or media, targeted inspections of high-hazard industries, and follow-up inspections.
When do I have to report an injury to OSHA?
Within 8 hours of a work-related fatality, and within 24 hours of an inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
Can OSHA penalties be reduced?
Yes. OSHA can reduce penalties based on employer size, good faith, and history. Employers can also request an informal conference or contest citations within 15 working days of receiving them.
Does OSHA training reduce penalties?
Training itself doesn't guarantee lower penalties, but documented training and effective safety programs help prevent violations, can support good-faith reductions, and are required by many standards.