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OROSHARecord
Penalties & Enforcement

Citation

A formal written notice issued by OSHA to an employer describing the specific violation, the standard violated, the proposed penalty, and the deadline for correction.

Citation is a term from U.S. workplace-safety regulation — typically a category in OSHA enforcement, a citation classification, or a worker-protection concept under the OSH Act. The definition here is the practical worker-facing meaning. Understanding Citation is part of reading OSHA enforcement records defensibly. Citation classifications (serious, willful, repeat, other-than-serious, de minimis) carry meaningfully different implications for both employers and workers, and the worker-relevant interpretation often differs from the strict legal definition.

Each company page on OSHARecord surfaces Citation-relevant data for that specific employer, so the general definition here translates into concrete enforcement-history detail on the per-employer pages workers actually use.

What It Means

After completing an inspection and finding violations, OSHA issues citations to the employer. Each citation describes the specific nature of the violation, identifies the OSHA standard or regulation that was violated, proposes a monetary penalty, and sets an abatement date by which the hazard must be corrected. Citations must be issued within six months of the violation being discovered. The employer is required to post a copy of each citation at or near the location of the violation for three working days or until the hazard is abated, whichever is longer. Upon receiving a citation, the employer has 15 working days to contest it before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). If the employer does not contest within this period, the citation becomes a final order and the penalty must be paid. OSHA determines penalty amounts based on the gravity of the violation, the employer's size, good faith efforts, and history of previous violations. On OSHARecord, citations form the core of each company's violation record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Citation" mean in OSHA context?

A formal written notice issued by OSHA to an employer describing the specific violation, the standard violated, the proposed penalty, and the deadline for correction.

Why does Citation matter for workplace safety?

After completing an inspection and finding violations, OSHA issues citations to the employer. Each citation describes the specific nature of the violation, identifies the OSHA standard or regulation that was violated, proposes a monetary penalty, and sets an abatement date by which the hazard must b...

Related Terms

Serious Violation
A violation where a workplace hazard could cause death or serious physical harm and the employer knew or should have known about it.
Willful Violation
A violation where the employer intentionally and knowingly committed an act that violates OSHA standards with plain indifference to the law.
Contested Citation
An OSHA citation that the employer has formally challenged before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission within the 15-day contest period.
Abatement
The corrective action an employer must take to eliminate or control a cited workplace hazard within the timeframe specified by OSHA.

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About This Data

Definitions based on OSHA standards, the OSH Act of 1970, and federal enforcement guidance. Penalty amounts reflect 2026 inflation-adjusted maximums. See our methodology.