If a violation is found:

• You could receive a citation with civil penalties.1 The penalties are based on the violation’s severity, extent and likelihood, as well as the size of your business:
• Nonserious or minor violations, including posting and recordkeeping violations - up to $16,285  at the time of publication. (This penalty amount may increase annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).)2
• Repeat or willful violations — from $11,632 to $162,851 at the time of publication. (This penalty amount may increase annually based on the CPI.)3
• Serious violations — up to $25,000 for each violation.4
• Failure to correct or abate a violation — up to $15,000 for each day the failure continues.5
• Substantial if you fail to report a fatal or serious incident.
• You could receive a Special Order forcing you to remedy any unsafe condition, device or other workplace hazard to employee safety and health that is not covered by any existing standard. A Special Order creates a special standard that may apply only to you.
• You could receive a Notice if the violation relates to a general or regulatory offense and does not immediately impact employee safety and health.
• You could receive an Information Memorandum directing your attention to a workplace condition with the potential of becoming a hazard to employee safety or health.
• You may receive an Order to Take Special Action when an unsafe workplace condition covered by an existing standard requires specific instruction.
• You may receive an Order Prohibiting Use or Yellow Tagging when the inspector finds any workplace condition, equipment or practice that constitutes an imminent hazard to employees. An imminent hazard is any condition or practice that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or before the hazard can be eliminated through normal enforcement procedures.

There are two additional violations categories for which Cal/ OSHA can issue citations - “enterprise-wide” violations and “egregious” violations.

Under Labor Code section 6317, there is a rebuttable presumption that a violation committed by an employer with multiple worksites is “enterprise-wide” if the employer has a written policy or procedure that violates certain safety rules or Cal/OSHA has evidence of a pattern or practice of the same violation committed by the employer involving more than one worksite. Cal/OSHA may issue an enterprise-wide citation requiring abatement if the employer fails to rebut the presumption. Enterprise-wide citations carry the same penalties as repeated or willful citations.6

Cal/OSHA also must issue a citation for an “egregious violation” if the division believes that an employer has willfully and egregiously violated an occupational safety or health standard, order, special order or regulation based on several criteria listed in the statute.7 Violations may be egregious if, for example:

• The employer intentionally, through conscious voluntary action or inaction, made no reasonable effort to eliminate them;
• They resulted in worker fatalities, a workplace catastrophe (i.e., injury requiring hospitalization) or large numbers of injuries or illnesses;
• They resulted in persistent injuries or illnesses;
• The employer has an extensive history of prior violations;
• The employer intentionally disregarded its health and safety responsibilities;
• The employer’s conduct amounts to bad faith in the performance of their duties; or
• The employer has committed a large number of violations so as to undermine significantly the effectiveness of any safety and health program that may be in place.

If Cal/OSHA determines that the employer has committed an egregious violation, each instance of an employee exposed to that violation is considered a separate violation for the issuance of fines and penalties. The conduct underlying a violation determine to be egregious must have occurred within the five years preceding the egregious violation citation.

If the inspector finds a violation, you must:

• Post the citation, order or notice of violation in a place where employees working nearby can easily read it; and
• Correct or abate the problem within the specified amount of time and notify Cal/OSHA.

In addition to posting the citation or order, employers must also post an employee notice, to be prepared by Cal/OSHA.8 The notice will contain at least the following:

• Notice that the division investigated the workplace and found one or more workplace safety or health violations.
• Notice that the investigation resulted in one or more citations or orders, which the employer is required to post at or near the place of the violation for three working days, or until the unsafe condition is corrected, whichever is longer.
• Notice that the employer is required to communicate any hazards at the workplace to employees in a language and manner they understand.
• Contact information for the division and the internet website where employees can search for citations against their employer.

The employee notice must be posted at or near each place a violation referred to in the citation or order occurred. All postings shall be maintained for three working days, or until the unsafe condition is abated, whichever is longer.9

In addition to English, the employee notice will be made available by the division in the top seven non-English languages used by limited-English-proficient adults in California, as determined by the most recent American Community Survey by the United States Census Bureau.10

Review the citation or order for accuracy. Read its statement of the violated standard’s requirements. Record your observations of the inspection and your understanding of the inspector’s findings. If you object to the citation and possess enough evidence, you can appeal. For more information, see What Happens If You Disagree With the Results of an Inspection?

The California Supreme Court expanded employer liability for workplace safety violations by permitting civil suits under the Business and Professions Code to proceed against employers who endanger worker health.11 A plastics manufacturer installed a residential water heater instead of an industrial grade boiler because of the high costs and delays of obtaining the permits. Two employees were killed when the water heater exploded two years later.

In addition to Cal/OSHA fines and criminal charges, the Orange County District Attorney filed a lawsuit against the plastics manufacturer alleging that:

• Failing to comply with Cal/OSHA regulations amounted to an unfair business practice under California’s unfair competition law (UCL); and
• Making false and misleading statements about safety to its workplace and using those false statements to retain customers and employees violated California’s fair advertising law (FAL).

The employer argued that these types of claims weren’t allowed, but the California Supreme Court disagreed, holding that an employer may face a civil lawsuit and penalties due to alleged unfair and fraudulent business practices, as well as false and misleading statements intended to gain a competitive edge.

Serious Violations

The California Labor Code establishes procedures and standards for investigating a serious workplace violation.

There is a rebuttable presumption that a serious violation exists if Cal/OSHA determines that a “realistic possibility that death or serious physical harm could result from the actual hazard created by the violation.”12 The violation’s existence is presumed to be true, unless you can prove otherwise.

An actual hazard may include:

• A serious exposure exceeding an established permissible exposure limit.
• The existence of one or more unsafe or unhealthy practices, means, methods, operations or processes.

Before issuing a citation, Cal/OSHA must make a reasonable attempt to determine all of the following information:

• Training for employees and supervisors relevant to preventing employee exposure to the hazard;
• Procedures for discovering, controlling access to and correcting the hazard;
• Supervising employees exposed to the hazard;
• Procedures for communicating to employees about your health and safety rules and programs; and
• Information that you want to provide before a citation is issued, including:
• Your explanation of the circumstances surrounding the alleged violation;
• Why you believe a serious violation does not exist;
• Why you believe your actions were reasonable and responsible; and
• Any other information that you want to provide.

The Labor Code also contains specific steps and timelines for issuing a citation. You can rebut the presumption that a violation is serious. You must demonstrate that you took all steps a reasonable and responsible employer in like circumstances would take before the violation occurred to anticipate and prevent the violation. You must demonstrate that you took effective action to eliminate employee exposure to the hazard as soon as the violation was discovered.

“Serious physical harm” is defined as any injury or illness that occurs in the place of employment or in connection with any employment, that results in any of the following outcomes:13

• Inpatient hospitalization for purposes other than medical observation.
• The loss of any member of the body.
• Any serious degree of permanent disfigurement.
• Impairment sufficient to cause a body part or an organ’s function to become permanently and significantly reduced in efficiency on or off the job. Impairment might include second- or third-degree burns, crushing injuries, respiratory illnesses or broken bones.

1. 8 CCR sec. 336

2. Lab. Code secs. 6427, 6431

3. Lab. Code sec. 6429

4. Lab. Code sec. 6428

5. Lab. Code sec. 6430

6. Lab. Code sec. 6317

7. Lab. Code sec. 6317.8

8. Lab. Code sec. 6318(c)

9. Lab. Code sec. 6318(d)

10. Lab. Code sec. 6318(e)

11. Solus Industrial Innovations, LLC v. Superior Court of Orange County, 4 Cal.5th 316 (2018)

12. Lab. Code sec. 6432

13. Lab. Code sec. 6432