1.3 Citation Categories, Penalty Calculations & Contesting Procedures
Key Takeaways
- OSHA violations are classified into distinct categories: Other-than-Serious, Serious, Willful, Repeat, Failure to Abate, and De Minimis.
- OSHA published no inflation adjustment for 2026, so the amounts effective January 15, 2025 remain the 2026 statutory maximums: $16,550 for Serious and Other-than-Serious violations, and $165,514 for Willful and Repeat violations.
- Failure to Abate citations carry a statutory maximum penalty of $16,550 per day past the abatement deadline.
- OSHA must issue citations within 6 months of the occurrence of the violation under Section 9(c).
- Employers have exactly 15 working days from receipt of a citation to submit a written Notice of Contest to the OSHA Area Director.
1.3 Citation Categories, Penalty Calculations & Contesting Procedures
Violation Categories and Statutory Monetary Penalties
Following an inspection, if the OSHA Area Director determines that standard violations occurred, OSHA issues written citations and proposed monetary penalties under Section 9 and Section 17 of the Act. Statutory penalty amounts are updated annually in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act.
| Violation Classification | Legal Definition & Standard |
|---|---|
| Other-than-Serious | A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm (e.g., failure to post safety posters or minor administrative recordkeeping errors).<br/>2026 Max Penalty: $16,550 per violation. |
| Serious | A violation where there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known with reasonable diligence of the hazard. Penalty is statutory mandatory.<br/>2026 Max Penalty: $16,550 per violation. |
| Willful | A violation committed with intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, OSH Act requirements. The employer knew of the hazard and made no reasonable effort to eliminate it.<br/>2026 Max Penalty: $165,514 per violation (Statutory Min: $11,823). |
| Repeat | A violation of any standard, regulation, or rule where, upon re-inspection, a substantially similar violation is found, and a prior citation became a final order within the last 5 years.<br/>2026 Max Penalty: $165,514 per violation. |
| Failure to Abate (FTA) | Failure to correct a previously cited violation by the mandatory abatement deadline specified in the final order.<br/>2026 Max Penalty: $16,550 per day past abatement date. |
| De Minimis | Technical violations with no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health (e.g., ladder rung spacing off by 1/4 inch). Documented in inspection files; no citation or penalty is issued.<br/>2026 Max Penalty: $0. |
NO 2026 INFLATION BUMP: The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act normally raises these figures each January. For 2026 OSHA announced no inflation adjustment — the Bureau of Labor Statistics could not produce the October 2025 CPI-U data during the federal shutdown — so the amounts that took effect January 15, 2025 remain the enforceable 2026 maximums (OSHA memorandum, May 21, 2026). Statutory minimums also apply: $1,085 for a serious violation, $4,256 for a repeat violation, and $11,823 for a willful violation.
Criminal Willful Violations
Under Section 17(e) of the Act, if an employer's Willful violation results in the death of an employee, criminal charges may be brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. Conviction carries court fines of up to $10,000 ($250,000 for individuals or $500,000 for corporations under general criminal sentencing guidelines) and/or imprisonment for up to 6 months for a first offense (up to 12 months for a second conviction).
Penalty Calculation Methodology
OSHA Area Directors calculate proposed monetary penalties using the Field Operations Manual (FOM) guidelines. The process begins with establishing a Gravity-Based Penalty (GBP):
- Severity Assessment: Categorized as High, Medium, or Low based on the injury severity potential.
- Probability Assessment: Categorized as Greater or Lesser based on the number of workers exposed, frequency of exposure, and proximity to the hazard.
After setting the base GBP, OSHA applies Penalty Adjustment Factors. Chapter 6 of the Field Operations Manual was revised effective July 14, 2025, and the current factors are materially more generous to small employers than the pre-2025 table that older study materials still reprint:
| Adjustment Factor | Current Rule (FOM Chapter 6, effective July 14, 2025) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1–25 employees: 70% reduction; 26–100: 30%; 101–250: 10%; 251 or more: none. Based on the maximum number of employees nationwide during the previous 12 months. The 70% tier previously stopped at 10 employees. |
| Good Faith | Up to 25% where the employer has a documented written safety and health management system containing the core elements; 15% where the documented system has only incidental deficiencies. No good-faith credit for high-gravity serious, willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations, or for an employer with no program at all. |
| History | 20% reduction for an employer never inspected by federal OSHA or a State Plan, or inspected within the previous 5 years with no serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations. A 20% increase may be applied where a high-gravity serious citation became a final order within 5 years. The reduction was 10% before July 2025. |
| Quick-Fix | A 15% reduction, applied after the history and good-faith adjustments, when the employer abates the hazard immediately or promptly. Unavailable for high-gravity serious, willful, repeated, failure-to-abate, and fatality/serious-injury cases. |
Citation Delivery, Posting, and Contesting Procedures
Issuance Statute of Limitations
Under Section 9(c) of the OSH Act, OSHA must issue citations within 6 months of the occurrence of the alleged violation.
Mandatory Posting Requirements
Upon receiving a citation, the employer must immediately post a copy of the citation at or near the location of the violation for 3 working days or until the hazard is abated, whichever is longer (weekends and federal holidays excluded).
The 15-Working-Day Contest Window
Upon receipt of a citation by certified mail, the employer has exactly 15 working days (excluding weekends and federal holidays) to take legal action.
Employer Receives Citation via Certified Mail
|
+------------------+------------------+
| |
Option A: Informal Conference Option B: Written Notice of Contest
(Held within 15 working days) (Submitted within 15 working days)
| |
Negotiate Settlement Agreement Case Transferred to OSHRC
(ISA) & Penalty Reductions for ALJ Hearing
- Informal Conference: The employer may request an informal conference with the OSHA Area Director within the 15-working-day window. The Area Director has statutory authority to execute an Informal Settlement Agreement (ISA), reduce monetary penalties, reclassify violation severity, or extend abatement dates.
- Formal Notice of Contest: If the employer disagrees with the citation, proposed penalty, or abatement deadline, the employer must submit a written Notice of Contest to the Area Director within 15 working days.
CRITICAL RULE: If an employer fails to submit a written Notice of Contest within 15 working days, the citation and penalty assessment automatically become a final order of the OSHRC and are not subject to review by any court or agency.
Adjudication Process Before OSHRC
Once a Notice of Contest is filed:
- OSHA transfers the case file to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC).
- An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) conducts formal evidentiary hearings and issues a written decision.
- The ALJ decision may be appealed to the full three-member OSHRC Commission.
- Decisions of the OSHRC Commission may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the judicial circuit where the violation occurred.
What is the 2026 maximum statutory civil penalty for an OSHA Serious violation?
How many working days does an employer have from receipt of an OSHA citation to file a written Notice of Contest?
What penalty structure applies to an employer who fails to correct a cited violation past the mandatory abatement deadline?
What is the statutory limitation period under Section 9(c) within which OSHA must issue a citation following a violation?