State OSHA plan civil penalty maximums by violation type compared with federal
Maximum civil penalty amounts for workplace safety violations in each OSHA-approved State Plan, compared with the federal OSHA baseline. Each record is one state-plan jurisdiction and one violation type (serious, willful, repeat, other-than-serious, failure-to-abate, regulatory/posting). Gives the state's maximum and minimum penalty, the corresponding federal amount, and key structural differences in how the penalty is computed (severity tiers, employer-size reductions, good-faith adjustments). Answers 'what is the maximum fine for a serious OSHA violation in [state]' and 'how does [state]'s penalty structure differ from federal OSHA'. Special note for 2026: the October 2025 CPI-U was not produced due to the government shutdown, so federal penalties were not adjusted — but some state plans (CA, OR) adjusted independently, widening the gap.
Records25
Sources7
Verified
Review by
LicenceFacts from federal and state government penalty schedules; statutory penalty amounts are not copyrightable
The data
| Jurisdiction | Violation type | Penalty maximum | Federal maximum | Effective date | Computation method | Statute citation | Penalty minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | failure-to-abate | $15,000 | $16,550 | January 1, 2025 | Daily additional penalty based on initial Gravity-based penalty, adjusted for Size, Good Faith, and History at time of reinspection; may be reduced up to 90% for first 120 days for regulatory/general, up to 50% thereafter | Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 336(f) | |
| Federal | failure-to-abate | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2026 | Up to $16,550 per day beyond abatement date, generally limited to 30 days maximum | 29 C.F.R. 1903.15 | |
| Nevada | failure-to-abate | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2025 | Mirrors federal per SB 40 (2019); per day unabated beyond abatement date, generally limited to 30 days maximum | SB 40 (2019 Legislative Session) | |
| Oregon | failure-to-abate | $16,550 | January 1, 2026 | Per OAR 437-001-0135 through 437-001-0203; specific failure-to-abate amounts not listed in this summary sheet | OAR 437-001-0135 through 437-001-0203 | ||
| California | other-than-serious | $16,285 | $16,550 | January 1, 2025 | General violation: base penalty $1,000–$2,000 based on Severity (Low/Medium/High), adjusted for Extent (±25%) and Likelihood (±25%), then Size, Good Faith, History; 50% abatement credit | Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 336(b) | |
| Federal | other-than-serious | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2026 | Only minimal severity assigned; Area Director may propose up to $16,550 for deterrent effect | 29 C.F.R. 1903.15 | $0 |
| Nevada | other-than-serious | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2025 | Mirrors federal per SB 40 (2019); automatically adopts federal penalty amounts | SB 40 (2019 Legislative Session) | |
| Oregon | other-than-serious | $300 | $16,550 | January 1, 2026 | Low probability = $0, High probability = $300; first-instance only | OAR 437-001-0135 through 437-001-0203 | $0 |
| Washington | other-than-serious | $200 | $16,550 | February 17, 2025 | First time nonstatutory general violation = $0; base penalty $200 used for willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate calculations | WAC 296-900-14010; RCW 49.17.180 | $0 |
| Federal | posting | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2026 | Same as other-than-serious | 29 C.F.R. 1903.15 | $0 |
| Nevada | posting | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2025 | Mirrors federal per SB 40 (2019); automatically adopts federal penalty amounts | SB 40 (2019 Legislative Session) | |
| California | regulatory | $16,285 | $16,550 | January 1, 2025 | Minimum proposed penalty of $500 representing gravity; adjusted for Size, Good Faith, and History; no abatement credit | Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 336(a) | $500 |
| California | repeat | $162,851 | $165,514 | January 1, 2025 | 1st repeat: Proposed Penalty x2; 2nd repeat: x4; 3rd repeat: x10; not subject to adjustment other than Size | Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 336(g) | |
| Federal | repeat | $165,514 | $165,514 | January 15, 2026 | Gravity-based penalty with size, history, good faith adjustments; minimum $472 for repeated OTS with no initial penalty | 29 C.F.R. 1903.15 | $4,256 |
| Nevada | repeat | $165,514 | $165,514 | January 15, 2025 | Mirrors federal per SB 40 (2019); automatically adopts federal penalty amounts | SB 40 (2019 Legislative Session) | |
| Oregon | repeat | $170,046 | $165,514 | January 1, 2026 | First-instance serious initial penalty x4 for 1st repeat, x6 for 2nd, x8 for 3rd; OTS repeat = $12,147; size reduction of $7,618 for employers with ≤50 employees | OAR 437-001-0135 through 437-001-0203 | $12,147 |
| California | serious | $25,000 | $16,550 | January 1, 2025 | Initial base penalty of $18,000, adjusted for Extent (±25%) and Likelihood (±25%) to get Gravity-based penalty, then further adjusted for Size (up to 40% for ≤10 employees), Good Faith (up to 30%), and History (up to 10%); abatement credit of 50% available if abated before citation or within abatement period | Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 336(c) | |
| Federal | serious | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2026 | Gravity-based penalty using severity x probability scale; high gravity = $16,550, moderate = $9,457–$14,187, low = $7,093; reduced by size (up to 70% for 1–25 employees), history (up to 20%), and good faith (up to 25%) | 29 C.F.R. 1903.15 | $1,085 |
| Nevada | serious | $16,550 | $16,550 | January 15, 2025 | Mirrors federal per SB 40 (2019); automatically adopts federal penalty amounts | SB 40 (2019 Legislative Session) | |
| Oregon | serious | $17,004 | $16,550 | January 1, 2026 | Severity x Probability matrix; base penalties from $3,643 (Low/Low) to $17,004 (High/High or death); adjusted for good faith (±20%), size (up to 75% for 1–10 employees), history (±10%), immediate correction (10%) | OAR 437-001-0135 through 437-001-0203 | $1,214 |
| Washington | serious | $16,550 | $16,550 | February 17, 2025 | Gravity = Severity (1–3) x Probability (1–3); base penalties from $1,020 to $7,140 + Inflation Factor + 2% catch-up; adjusted for size, good faith, history; minimum $100 required by statute | WAC 296-900-14010; RCW 49.17.180 | $100 |
| California | willful | $162,851 | $165,514 | January 1, 2025 | Proposed Penalty multiplied by five; minimum $11,632, maximum $162,851 | Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 336(h) | $11,632 |
| Federal | willful | $165,514 | $165,514 | January 15, 2026 | Minimum $11,823 required by statute; gravity-based penalty with size, history, good faith adjustments | 29 C.F.R. 1903.15 | $11,823 |
| Nevada | willful | $165,514 | $165,514 | January 15, 2025 | Mirrors federal per SB 40 (2019); automatically adopts federal penalty amounts | SB 40 (2019 Legislative Session) | |
| Oregon | willful | $170,046 | $165,514 | January 1, 2026 | Severity x Probability matrix for serious-rated; OTS willful = $12,147; serious physical harm from $27,206 to $54,412, death from $81,617 to $141,470 | OAR 437-001-0135 through 437-001-0203 | $12,147 |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 7 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- dir.ca.govhttps://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/336.html
- osha.govhttps://www.osha.gov/memos/2026-05-21/2026-annual-adjustments-osha-civil-penalties
- business.nv.govhttps://www.business.nv.gov/news-media/press-releases/2025/industrial-relations/nevada-osha-s-2025-workplace-safety-violation-penalties-increase-in-accordance-with-federal-adjustment-for-inflation/
- osha.oregon.govhttps://osha.oregon.gov/OSHAPubs/5632-2026.pdf
- app.leg.wa.govhttps://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-900-14010
- dir.ca.govhttps://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2025/2025-10.html
- osha.govhttps://www.osha.gov/penalties
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.