The first article in this series provided a general overview of the OSH Act and OSHA; the second article examined OSHA’s rulemaking process; the third article reviewed an employer’s duty to comply with standards; the fourth article discussed the general duty clause; the fifth article addressed OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements; the sixth article covered employees’ and employers’ respective rights; the seventh article addressed whistleblower issues; the eighth article covered the intersection of employment law and safety issues; the ninth article discussed OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS); and the tenth article examined voluntary safety and health self-audits. In this eleventh article in the series, we focus on OSHA’s citation process.

Quick Hits

• The OSH Act requires that OSHA detail violations with specific reference to the standards breached and descriptions of the noncompliant conditions or conduct found.
• OSHA classifies a citation as one of four categories—“willful,” “repeat,” “serious,” and “other”—each with a degree of severity and associated penalties, adjusted annually for inflation.
• An employer receiving an OSHA citation must first post the citation in a prominent place, at or near the worksite referenced in the citation.
• The employer may contest the citation within fifteen working days (during which OSHA typically schedules an informal conference) and settle the case with OSHA at any time via a signed, written agreement that addresses all material terms and resolves all contested issues. The parties must file the notice of settlement with an administrative law judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC).

No employer wants to be inspected; if inspected, every employer hopes to escape citation. However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) frequently issues citations at the conclusion of inspections. What does a citation mean for an employer, and what can an employer do with it once received?

Understanding the Alleged Violation and Potential Consequences

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act requires the agency to “describe with particularity” the violation(s), which consists of a reference to the standard(s) believed to have been violated and usually a one- or two-paragraph description—called the “alleged violation description” (AVD)—of the noncompliant condition or conduct found.

Along with the violation and AVD, OSHA classifies citations into one of four categories: (1) “Willful”; (2) “Repeat”; (3) “Serious”; and (4) “Other.” Willful violations are the most severe classification of violation. A violation is “willful” if it is “an act done voluntarily with either an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the OSH Act’s requirements.”While the OSH Act does not define the term “Repeat Violation,” courts typically require proof that the respondent violated the same standard on an earlier occasion in a substantially similar fashion. The OSH Act does not limit how far back OSHA may look for a Repeat violation, but the agency currently confines itself to a five-year lookback with regard to an employer’s citation history nationwide. Serious violations are the most commonly cited violations. OSHA classifies a violation as “Serious” when the hazard created by the violated standard has a substantial probability of causing death or serious physical harm to an employee. “Other” violations, sometimes also referred to as “Other Than Serious” violations, are cited when an employer violates a standard, but the hazard is not capable of causing death or serious physical harm. OSHA typically reserves “Other” violations for paperwork violations, such as failures to keep proper OSHA 300 logs.

A citation will also contain a proposed penalty. The amount can vary depending on the gravity and severity of the violation, including the likelihood of severe injury and the number of employees exposed to the hazard. Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, OSHA increases the penalty amounts every year based on the annual inflation rates. As of January 15, 2025, the maximum penalties increased to $165,514 for Willful and Repeat violations, and $16,550 for Serious and Other Than Serious violations.

To reward and incentivize good-faith efforts to implement an effective safety and health management system in the workplace, the agency may reduce a penalty. In considering good faith, OSHA reviews the employer’s overall safety and health program. If the agency determines the employer has an effective written safety and health program, covering all relevant OSHA standards, OSHA may reduce the proposed penalty by up to 25 percent.However, OSHA will not reduce penalties for willful and repeat violations.

Typically, OSHA proposes one penalty for each OSHA regulation (or “standard”) violated, even though multiple employees may have been exposed to the violation and even though an employer may have multiple instances of the same violation. For example, an employer’s failure to install safety guards on ten identical machines is ordinarily cited and penalized as one violation, not ten. Furthermore, OSHA normally would propose one penalty for a machine guarding violation, regardless of the number of employees using the machine. However, under a policy OSHA developed for “egregious” violations, the agency may treat each instance of a violation as a separate violation, thus multiplying the potential penalty amount.

Abatement Requirements

The OSH Act requires employers to abate, or correct, violative conditions. The citation will provide a deadline for the employer to abate the citation. It will not include any directive or recommendation for abatement, unless the citation is for a violation of the General Duty Clause, also known as Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act. Employers must provide proof of abatement to OSHA by the deadline, although an employer can receive an extension if it can persuade OSHA or OSHRC to grant one. OSHA commonly accepts photographs of corrective action, but sometimes a statement from the employer detailing the abatement methods can suffice. When in doubt, a telephone call to the compliance officer or area director can often clarify the ambiguity and provide guidance on required actions needed to satisfy abatement.

Addressing an OSHA Citation

Any employer receiving a citation must first post the citation in a prominent place, at or near the worksite referenced in the citation. Typically, posting on the employee bulletin board containing the mandatory U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) postings relating to minimum wage, etc., will suffice. OSHA permits an employer to redact the penalty amounts.

Companies not familiar with OSHA are often unsure of their rights to contest a citation. An invoice is attached to the citation; many assume they cannot appeal the matter and simply pay the penalty. While accepting the citation is one possible resolution, the employer has the right to challenge (called “contest”) any citation it receives.

If the employer decides the citation is valid, or at least not worth litigating, the employer need do nothing but abate the hazard within the time specified on the citation and remit the penalty amount to OSHA.

If the employer requests one, OSHA will conduct an informal conference. These conferences are typically scheduled during the fifteen–working-day contest period and allow the employer and the agency to discuss the citations in an informal setting, usually with an area director or assistant area director. The agency will usually make a settlement offer, generally consisting of lower penalty amounts; sometimes the agency withdraws one or more violations, but the agency has the authority to change classifications and AVD language, too.

Importantly, the informal conference does not suspend or delay the fifteen-working-day deadline for an employer to contest a citation.

If the employer sends OSHA a notice of contest, it may still settle the case at any time, very similar to the manner done at informal settlement. The only prerequisite required is that OSHA and the employer reach an agreement on all material terms and reduce their understanding to a signed, written document. Once the parties reach a full settlement agreement—resolving all issues contested—they file a notice of settlement with the administrative law judge (i.e., an OSHRC judge), which terminates the case.