You can look up OSHA violations for free through OSHA’s Establishment Search at osha.gov, which returns a company’s inspection history, individual citations, the standard violated, and the penalty for each. The database covers inspections by federal OSHA and by state-run programs, so most enforcement activity across the country shows up in one place. If the online tool does not have what you need, you can also request records through the Freedom of Information Act or pull workplace injury data from a separate OSHA system.
Using OSHA’s Establishment Search
The Establishment Search lives at osha.gov/ords/imis/establishment.html. You can search several ways:
- By company name in the “Establishment” box. If the legal name differs from the trade name, try both.
- By location, using an OSHA office or a site zip code to narrow results.
- By inspection number (the Activity Number), if you have one from a news story or court filing.
- By industry, using a NAICS or SIC code to see inspections across a sector.
The results page lists matching inspections, each with a clickable Activity Number that opens the full inspection detail. Under “Violation Items” you’ll see every citation issued, and clicking the Citation ID pulls up the details for that specific violation, including the standard cited and the penalty.
A few practical notes. Large employers with many worksites can generate dozens of hits, so filter by zip code or office. If nothing comes back, shorten the company name and drop “Inc.” or “LLC.” The database goes back decades, which helps for historical research but means older inspections for companies that have since renamed or been acquired may take some digging.
What an OSHA Inspection Record Shows
Each record includes the company name and address, the date the inspection opened, and the reason it was initiated. Inspection types include complaint-based investigations triggered by a worker or outside report, referrals from other agencies or OSHA staff, programmed inspections in high-hazard industries, and fatality or catastrophe investigations.
The record then lists every violation, each tied to a specific section of the Code of Federal Regulations. General industry standards fall under 29 CFR Part 1910, and construction standards under 29 CFR Part 1926. You’ll see the proposed penalty for each violation, the final penalty if it changed through settlement or contest, and the abatement date the employer was given to fix the hazard. Case status shows whether the inspection is open, closed, or being contested.
Reading Violation Types and Penalty Amounts
The category of a violation tells you how serious OSHA considered the hazard and whether it believed the employer knew about it. Maximum penalties adjusted for inflation, effective January 15, 2025, are:
- Serious: a hazard that could cause death or significant physical harm, where the employer knew or should have known. Up to $16,550 per violation.
- Other-than-serious: a violation with a direct relationship to safety but unlikely to cause death or serious harm. Up to $16,550.
- Willful: the employer intentionally violated a standard or showed plain indifference to worker safety. Up to $165,514 per violation, with a minimum of $11,162.
- Repeat: the employer was previously cited for a substantially similar violation. Up to $165,514.
- Failure to abate: the employer did not fix a previously cited hazard by the deadline. Up to $16,550 per day the violation continues past the abatement date.
A “willful” citation is worth close attention. It means OSHA concluded the employer either deliberately ignored a known hazard or made no reasonable effort to comply. A willful violation that causes a worker’s death can also lead to criminal prosecution, with fines up to $250,000 for individuals under general federal criminal provisions and imprisonment of up to six months for a first offense or one year for a subsequent conviction.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 666 – Civil and Criminal Penalties
You may also see “de minimis” notices in older records. These are technical violations with no direct safety impact and carry no penalty.
State-Plan States
Twenty-two state plans, covering 21 states and Puerto Rico, run their own occupational safety programs for private-sector and government workers. Another seven cover only state and local government employees.2Occupational Safety and Health Administration. State Plans These programs must be at least as effective as federal OSHA but may adopt stricter standards or different enforcement approaches.3Occupational Safety and Health Administration. About OSHA
The federal Establishment Search pulls data from both federal and state OSHA offices through OSHA’s Integrated Management Information System.4Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Establishment Search Coverage can still be uneven, though. Some state plans maintain their own separate, more detailed databases. If you’re researching a company in a state-plan state such as California, Oregon, or Washington and the federal search comes up thin, check that state’s occupational safety agency website directly.
When the Online Search Isn’t Enough
Injury Data
OSHA collects workplace injury and illness data through its Injury Tracking Application, and the raw data is available for public download at osha.gov. Employers with 250 or more employees must electronically submit annual OSHA Form 300A summary data (total injuries, illnesses, days away from work), and establishments with 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries must also submit detailed case information from Forms 300 and 301.5Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Injury Tracking Application (ITA) Data
This is different from violation records. It shows how many workers actually got hurt at a site, whether or not OSHA ever inspected. A company with no citations but a high injury rate can still be a dangerous place to work, and comparing a company’s rates against its industry average gives you a fuller picture than citations alone.
FOIA Requests
If records don’t appear in the online database, or if you want the full case file with photographs, employer correspondence, and internal OSHA notes, file a FOIA request. OSHA processes these through the Department of Labor’s FOIA office. Requests must be in writing and should describe the records as specifically as possible; company name, location, and approximate inspection dates speed things up. Fees may apply for extensive document production, but news media and academic requesters often qualify for reduced or waived fees. Simple requests can come back in a few weeks; complex ones involving large case files can take months.
Contested Cases and the Severe Violator Program
When a record shows “contested,” the employer is fighting the citation, the penalty, or both. That matters because a contested citation is not a final determination.
An employer has 15 working days after receiving a citation to file a written notice of contest with the OSHA Area Director, specifying whether it is challenging the citation, the penalty, or both.6Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Employer and Employee Contests Before the Review Commission Miss that window and the citation and penalty become a final order no longer subject to review. Contested cases go to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent federal agency separate from OSHA.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 661 – Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Companies often use the contest process to negotiate reduced penalties through settlement, which is why a record’s final penalty frequently differs from what was originally proposed.
You may also see a company flagged under OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Employers land there when an inspection uncovers particularly dangerous conditions, such as willful or repeated violations tied to a worker’s death, an incident hospitalizing three or more employees, or multiple high-gravity serious violations combined with willful or repeated citations. Placement triggers mandatory follow-up inspections within one to two years after the citation becomes final, and OSHA sends copies of the citations to corporate headquarters and pushes for company-wide settlement agreements that may require outside safety consultants, quarterly injury logs, and consent to unannounced inspections.8Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Severe Violator Enforcement Program (CPL 02-00-169) A company on that list has drawn sustained federal scrutiny.