OSHA 3000-02R 2023

Employer Rights

and Responsibilities

Following a Federal OSHA Inspection
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

“To assure safe and healthful working 

conditions for working men and women; 

by authorizing enforcement of the 

standards developed under the Act; by 

assisting and encouraging the States in 

their efforts to assure safe and healthful working conditions; by providing for 

research, information, education, and 

training in the field of occupational safety 

and health.”

This informational booklet provides a 

general overview of employer rights and 

responsibilities following a Federal OSHA 

inspection. It does not alter or determine 

compliance responsibilities in OSHA 

standards or the Occupational Safety and 

Health Act of 1970. Because interpretations 

and enforcement policy may change over 

time, you should consult current OSHA 

administrative interpretations and decisions 

by the Occupational Safety and Health 

Review Commission and the courts for 

additional guidance on OSHA compliance 

requirements.

This publication is in the public domain and 

may be reproduced, fully or partially, without 

permission. Source credit is requested but 

not required.

This information is available to sensoryimpaired individuals upon request. Voice 

phone: (202) 693-1999; teletypewriter (TTY) 

number: 1-877-889-5627.
U.S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA 3000-02R 2023 

Employer Rights

and Responsibilities

Following a Federal OSHA Inspection

i

Contents

After a Federal OSHA Inspection...1

Posting Requirements...2

Employer Options...2

Informal Conference 

and Settlement...3

Types of Violations...5

How to Comply...6

How to Contest Citations...8

The Contest Process...9

Petition for Modification 

of Abatement...10

What Workers Can Do...11

Follow-up Inspections and 

Failure to Abate...11

Employer Responsibilities...12

Worker Retaliation...13

Providing False Information...13

OSHA Assistance, Services, 

and Programs...14

How to Contact OSHA...17

OSHA Regional Offices...18

Appendix: The Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 

Act of 1996 (SBREFA)...20
1

After a Federal OSHA Inspection

This pamphlet contains important information 

regarding employer rights and responsibilities 

following a Federal Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration (OSHA) inspection under 

the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

(OSH Act), as amended. Under the OSH Act, 

employers have the responsibility to provide a 

safe workplace.

An OSHA compliance safety and health officer 

(CSHO) conducts an inspection of your workplace, 

in accordance with the OSH Act. After the 

inspection, the CSHO reports the findings to the 

OSHA area director who evaluates them. If a 

violation exists, OSHA will issue you a Citation 

and Notification of Penalty detailing the exact 

nature of the violation(s) and any associated 

penalties. A citation informs you of the alleged 

violation, sets a proposed time period within 

which to correct the violation, and proposes the 

appropriate dollar penalties.

The information in this booklet can and should be 

used as a discussion guide during your closing 

conference with the CSHO. For each apparent 

violation found during the inspection, the 

compliance officer has discussed or will discuss 

the following with you: 

 Nature of the violation;

 Possible abatement measures you may take to 

correct the violative condition;

 Possible abatement dates you may be required 

to meet; and

 Any penalties that the area director may issue.

The CSHO is a highly trained professional who 

can help you recognize and evaluate hazards as 

well as suggest appropriate methods of correcting 

violations. To minimize worker exposure to 

possible hazardous conditions, abatement efforts 

should always begin as soon as possible.
2

Posting Requirements

When you receive a Citation and Notification of 

Penalty, you must post the citation (or a copy 

of it) at or near the place where each violation 

occurred to make employees aware of the hazards 

to which they may be exposed. The citation must 

remain posted in a place where employees can 

see it, for three working days or until the violation 

is corrected, whichever is longer. (Saturdays, 

Sundays, and Federal holidays are not counted 

as working days.) You must comply with these 

posting requirements even if you contest the 

citation. Failure to follow posting requirements is 

a violation and can result in a penalty.

The abatement certification documents – such 

as abatement certifications, abatement plans 

and progress reports – also must be posted at or 

near the place where the violation occurred. For 

moveable equipment found to be in violation and 

where the posting of violations would be difficult or 

impractical, the employer has the option to identify 

the equipment with a “Warning” tag specified in 

the abatement verification regulation, Title 29 Code 

of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1903.19(i).

Employer Options

As an employer who has been cited, you may 

take either of the following courses of action:

 If you agree to the Citation and Notification of 

Penalty, you must correct the condition by the 

date set in the citation and pay the penalty, if 

one is proposed. 

 If you do not agree, you have 15 working 

days from the date you receive the citation to 

contest in writing any or all of the following:

– Citation

– Proposed penalty

– Abatement date
3

OSHA encourages you to call the local OSHA 

area office upon receipt of the citations to 

discuss any concerns. Before deciding to contest 

the citation, you may request an informal 

conference with the OSHA area director within 

the 15-working-day period to discuss any issues 

related to the Citation and Notification of Penalty. 

(See the following section on Informal Conference 

and Settlement). 

OSHA will inform the affected employee 

representatives of the informal conference 

or contest.

Informal Conference 

and Settlement

Before deciding whether to file a Notice of 

Intent to Contest, you may request an informal 

conference with the OSHA area director to 

discuss the Citation and Notification of Penalty. 

You may use this opportunity to do any of the 

following:

 Obtain a better explanation of the 

violations cited.

 Obtain a more complete understanding of the 

specific standards that apply.

 Negotiate and enter into an informal 

settlement agreement.

 Discuss ways to correct violations.

 Discuss issues concerning proposed penalties.

 Discuss proposed abatement dates.

 Resolve disputed citations and penalties, 

(thereby eliminating the need for the more 

formal procedures associated with litigation 

before the Occupational Safety and Health 

Review Commission).

 Obtain answers to any other questions you 

may have.
4

OSHA encourages you to take advantage of the 

opportunity to have an informal conference if 

you foresee any difficulties in complying with 

any part of the citation. Please note, however, 

that an informal conference must be held within 

the 15-working-day Notice of Intent to Contest 

period and will neither extend the 15-workingday contest period nor take the place of the 

filing of a written notice if you desire to contest.

Employee representative(s) have the right 

to participate in any informal conference or 

negotiations between the regional administrator 

or area director and the employer.

If you agree that the cited violations exist, but 

you have a valid reason for wishing to extend 

the abatement date(s), you may discuss this with 

the area director in an informal conference. He or 

she may issue an amended citation that changes 

the abatement date prior to the expiration of 

the 15-working-day period without your filing a 

Notice of Intent to Contest.

If you do not contest within 15 working days, your 

citation will become a final order not subject to 

review by any court or agency. After this occurs, 

the OSHA area director may continue to provide 

you with information and assistance on how to 

abate the hazards cited in your citation, but may 

not amend or change any citation or penalty 

which has become a final order. The area director 

may only advise you on abatement methods or 

extend the time you need to abate the violation. 

(See Petition for Modification of Abatement).

Whenever the employer, an affected employee, 

or employee representative requests an informal 

conference, all the parties shall be afforded 

the opportunity to participate fully. If either 

party chooses not to participate in the informal 

conference, that party forfeits the right to be 

consulted before decisions are made that affect 

the citations. If the requesting party objects to 

the attendance of the other party, OSHA may 
5

hold separate informal conferences. During a 

joint informal conference, separate or private 

discussions will be permitted if either party 

requests them. Informal conferences may be held 

by any means practical. 

Types of Violations

The following general information defines the 

types of violations and explains the actions you 

may take if you receive a citation as the result of 

an inspection.

In settling a penalty, OSHA has a policy of 

reducing penalties for small employers and those 

acting in good faith.

Willful: A willful violation exists under the OSH 

Act where an employer has demonstrated either 

an intentional disregard for the requirements of 

the OSH Act or a plain indifference to employee 

safety and health. 

Serious: Section 17(k) of the OSH Act provides 

that “a serious violation shall be deemed to 

exist in a place of employment if there is a 

substantial probability that death or serious 

physical harm could result from a condition 

which exists, or from one or more practices, 

means, methods, operations, or processes which 

have been adopted or are in use, in such place 

of employment unless the employer did not, 

and could not with the exercise of reasonable 

diligence, know of the presence of the violation.” 

OSHA may propose a penalty for each violation.

Other-Than-Serious: This type of violation is 

cited in situations where the accident/incident or 

illness that would be most likely to result from a 

hazardous condition would probably not cause 

death or serious physical harm, but would have 

a direct and immediate relationship to the safety 

and health of employees. OSHA may impose a 

penalty for each violation.
6

De Minimis: De minimis conditions are those 

where an employer has implemented a measure 

different from one specified in a standard, that 

has no direct or immediate relationship to safety 

or health. These conditions do not result in 

citations or penalties. 

Failure to Abate: A failure to abate violation 

exists when a previously cited hazardous 

condition, practice or non-complying equipment 

has not been brought into compliance since 

the prior inspection (i.e., the violation remains 

continuously uncorrected) and is discovered at 

a later inspection. If, however, the violation was 

corrected, but later reoccurs, the subsequent 

occurrence is a repeated violation. OSHA may 

impose a penalty for each violation.

Repeated: An employer may be cited for a 

repeated violation if that employer has been 

cited previously, within the last five years, for 

the same or a substantially similar condition or 

hazard and the citation has become a final order 

of the Occupational Safety and Health Review 

Commission (OSHRC). A citation may become a 

final order by operation of law when an employer 

does not contest the citation, or pursuant to court 

decision or settlement. Repeated violations can 

bring a civil penalty.

For more information on penalty ranges, see 

www.osha.gov/penalties.

How to Comply

For violations you do not contest, you must: 

(1) promptly notify the OSHA area director by 

letter, signed by a member of management, that 

you have taken the appropriate corrective action 

within the time set forth in the citation, and 

(2) pay any penalties itemized.
7

The notification you send the area director is 

referred to as Abatement Certification. For OtherThan-Serious violations, this may be a signed 

letter identifying the inspection number and the 

citation item number and noting that you corrected 

the violation by the date specified on the citation. 

For more serious violations (such as Serious, 

Willful, Repeated, or Failure to Abate), abatement 

certification requires more detailed proof.

If the employer has abatement questions after 

the inspection, the area director must ensure that 

additional information, if available, is provided to 

the employer as soon as possible.

Employers also can find guidance on abatement 

verification on OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov/

sites/default/files/publications/abate.pdf.

When the citation permits an extended time for 

abatement, you must ensure that employees 

are adequately protected during this time. For 

example, the citation may require the immediate 

use of personal protective equipment by 

employees while engineering controls are being 

installed. When indicated on the citation, you 

must also provide OSHA with an abatement plan 

(steps you will take to protect employees and 

correct the hazards) and periodic progress reports 

on your actions.

The penalties itemized on the Citation and 

Notification of Penalty are payable within 

15 working days of receipt of the penalty notice. 

If, however, you contest the citation or penalty in 

good faith, OSHA will suspend abatement and 

payment of penalties for those items contested 

until the Occupational Safety and Health Review 

Commission (OSHRC), or a higher court, issues 

a final order or decision. The OSHRC is an 

independent agency and is not a part of the 

U.S. Department of Labor. The final order of 

OSHRC will either uphold, modify, or eliminate 
8

the citations and/or penalties. Penalties for items 

not contested, however, are still due within 

15 working days. (For further details, see the 

following section on How to Contest Citations.)

Payment should be made by check or money 

order payable to DOL-OSHA. Please indicate on 

your payment the OSHA number from the upper 

right-hand corner of your citation and send it to 

the OSHA area office listed on the Citation and 

Notification of Penalty.

How to Contest Citations

If you wish to contest any portion of your 

citation, you must submit a Notice of Intent to 

Contest in writing to the OSHA area office within 

15 working days after receipt of the Citation and 

Notification of Penalty. This applies even if you 

have stated your disagreement with a citation, 

penalty, or abatement date during a telephone 

conversation or an informal conference.

The Notice of Intent to Contest must clearly 

state what is being contested – the citation, the 

penalty, the abatement date, or any combination 

of these factors. In addition, the notice must 

state whether all the violations on the citation, 

or just specific violations, are being contested. 

(For example, “I wish to contest the citation 

and penalty proposed for items 3 and 4 of the 

citation issued June 27, 2011”).

Your contest must be made in good faith. OSHA 

will not consider a contest filed solely to avoid 

your responsibilities for abatement or payment 

of penalties.

A proper contest of any item suspends your 

legal obligation to abate and pay until the item 

contested has been resolved. If you contest 

only the dates indicated on the citation or if you 
9

contest only some items on the citation, you 

must correct the other items by the abatement 

date and pay the corresponding penalties within 

15 days of notification.

After you file a Notice of Intent to Contest, 

your case is officially in litigation. If you wish 

to settle the case, you may contact the OSHA 

area director who will give you the name of 

the attorney handling your case for OSHA. All 

settlements of contested cases are negotiated 

between you and the attorney according to the 

rules of procedure of the OSHRC.

The Contest Process

If you file the written Notice of Intent to Contest 

within the required 15 working days, the 

OSHA area director forwards your case to the 

OSHRC. The OSHRC hears employer contests 

of OSHA citations. They are an independent 

agency separate from the Department of Labor. 

The OSHRC assigns the case to an administrative 

law judge who usually will schedule a hearing 

in a public place close to your workplace. Both 

employers and employees have the right to 

participate in this hearing, which contains all 

the elements of a trial, including examination 

and cross-examination of witnesses. You may 

choose to represent yourself or have an attorney 

represent you. The administrative law judge may 

affirm, modify, or eliminate any contested items 

of the citation or penalty.

As with any other legal procedure, there is an 

appeals process. Once the administrative law 

judge has ruled, any party to the case may request 

a further review by the full OSHRC. In addition, 

any of the three commissioners may, on his or 

her own motion, bring the case before the entire 

OSHRC for review. The OSHRC’s ruling, in turn, 
10

may be appealed to the Federal circuit court in 

which the case arose or for the Federal circuit 

where the employer has his or her principal office. 

For more information, write to:

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health

Review Commission

1120 20th Street, NW, 9th Floor

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: 202-606-5400 Fax: 202-606-5050

www.oshrc.gov

Petition for Modification 

of Abatement

OSHA assigns abatement dates on the basis of 

the best information available when issuing the 

citation. If you are unable to meet an abatement 

date because of uncontrollable events or other 

circumstances, and the 15-working-day contest 

period has expired, you may file a Petition for 

Modification of Abatement (PMA) with the 

OSHA area director.

The petition must be in writing and must be 

submitted as soon as possible, but no later than 

one working day after the abatement date. To 

show clearly that you have made a good-faith 

effort to comply, the PMA must include all of the 

following information before OSHA considers it: 

 Steps you have taken to achieve compliance, 

and dates they were taken;

 Additional time you need to comply;

 Why you need additional time;

 Interim steps you are taking to safeguard 

your workers against the cited hazard(s) until 

the abatement; and

 A certification that the petition has been 

posted, the date of posting and, when 

appropriate, a statement that the petition has 
11

been furnished to an authorized representative 

of the affected employees. The petition must 

remain posted for 10 working days, during 

which employees may file an objection. 

The OSHA area director may grant or oppose a 

PMA. If it is opposed, it automatically becomes 

a contested case before the OSHRC. If a PMA 

is granted, OSHA may conduct a monitoring 

inspection to ensure that conditions are as they 

have been described and that adequate progress 

has been made toward abatement. The OSHA area 

office may provide additional information on PMAs.

What Workers Can Do

Employees or their authorized representatives may 

contest any or all of the abatement dates set for 

violations if they believe them to be unreasonable. 

A written Notice of Intent to Contest must be filed 

with the OSHA area director within 15 working 

days after the employer receives the citation.

The filing of an employee contest does not 

suspend the employer’s obligation to abate.

Employees also have the right to object to a PMA. 

Such objections must be in writing and must be 

sent to the area office within 10 days of service or 

posting. OSHA will not make a decision regarding 

the PMA until the Review Commission resolves 

the issue.

Follow-up Inspections and 

Failure to Abate

If you receive a citation, a follow-up inspection 

may be conducted to verify that you have done 

the following: 

 Posted the citation as required,

 Corrected the violations as required in the 

citation, and/or
12

 Protected employees adequately and made 

appropriate progress in correcting hazards 

during multistep or lengthy abatement periods. 

In addition to providing for penalties for failure-topost citations and failure-to-abate violations, the 

OSH Act clearly states that you have a continuing 

responsibility to comply with the OSH Act and 

assure your employees safe and healthful working 

conditions. OSHA will cite any new violations 

discovered during a follow-up inspection.

Employer Responsibilities

Employers have the responsibility to provide a 

safe workplace. Employers MUST provide their 

employees with a workplace that does not have 

serious hazards and must follow all OSHA safety 

and health standards. Employers must find and 

correct safety and health problems. 

Employers MUST also:

 Prominently display the official OSHA Job 

Safety and Health – It’s the Law poster that 

describes rights and responsibilities under 

the OSH Act. This poster is free and can be 

downloaded from www.osha.gov.

 Inform workers about chemical hazards through 

training, labels, alarms, color-coded systems, 

chemical information sheets and other methods.

 Provide safety training to workers in a 

language and vocabulary they can understand.

 Keep accurate records of work-related injuries 

and illnesses.

 Perform tests in the workplace, such as air 

sampling, required by some OSHA standards.

 Provide required personal protective 

equipment at no cost to workers.*

 Provide hearing exams or other medical tests 

required by OSHA standards.

 Post OSHA citations and injury and illness data 

where workers can see them.
13

 Notify OSHA within 8 hours of a workplace 

fatality or within 24 hours of any work-related 

inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of 

an eye (1-800-321-OSHA [6742]).

 Not retaliate against workers for using their 

rights under the law, including their right to 

report a work-related injury or illness.

* Employers must pay for most types of required 

personal protective equipment.

Worker Retaliation

Section 11(c) of the OSH Act prohibits employers 

from discharging or otherwise retaliating against an 

employee who has exercised any right under this 

law, including the right to make safety and health 

complaints or to request an OSHA inspection. 

OSHA will investigate complaints from employees 

who believe they have been retaliated against. If 

the investigation discloses probable violations of 

worker rights, court action may follow.

Employees who believe they have been retaliated

against must file their complaints with OSHA 

within 30 calendar days from the date the 

retaliatory decision has been both made and 

communicated to the worker. No form is needed, 

but workers must call OSHA within 30 days of 

the alleged retaliation (at 1-800-321-OSHA [6742]). 

In states with OSHA-approved state programs, 

an employee who believes he/she has been 

retaliated against under Section 11(c) of the OSH 

Act is entitled to file a complaint under both state 

and federal procedures.

Providing False Information

All information employers report to OSHA must be 

accurate and truthful. Providing false information 

on efforts to abate cited conditions or in required 

records is punishable under the OSH Act.
14

OSHA Assistance, Services, 

and Programs

OSHA has a great deal of information to assist 

employers in complying with their responsibilities 

under OSHA law. Several OSHA programs and 

services can help employers identify and correct 

job hazards, as well as improve their safety and 

health program.

Establishing a Safety and Health Program

Safety and health programs are systems that can 

substantially reduce the number and severity of 

workplace injuries and illnesses, while reducing 

costs to employers. 

Visit www.osha.gov/safety-management for 

more information.

Compliance Assistance Specialists

OSHA compliance assistance specialists can 

provide information to employers and workers 

about OSHA standards, short educational 

programs on specific hazards or OSHA rights and 

responsibilities, and information on additional 

compliance assistance resources. 

Visit www.osha.gov/complianceassistance/cas or 

call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) to contact your local 

OSHA office.

No-Cost On-Site Safety and Health 

Consultation Services for Small Business

OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program offers 

no-cost and confidential advice to small 

and medium-sized businesses in all states, 

with priority given to high-hazard worksites. 

On-Site consultation services are separate 

from enforcement and do not result in penalties 

or citations. 
15

For more information or to find the local On-Site 

Consultation office in your state, visit www.osha.gov/

consultation, or call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

Under the consultation program, certain 

exemplary employers may request participation 

in OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement 

Recognition Program (SHARP). Worksites that 

receive SHARP recognition are exempt from 

programmed inspections during the period that 

the SHARP certification is valid.

Cooperative Programs

OSHA offers cooperative programs under which 

businesses, labor groups and other organizations 

can work cooperatively with OSHA. To find out 

more about any of the following programs, visit 

www.osha.gov/cooperativeprograms.

Strategic Partnerships and Alliances

The OSHA Strategic Partnerships (OSP) provide the 

opportunity for OSHA to partner with employers, 

workers, professional or trade associations, labor 

organizations, and/or other interested stakeholders. 

Through the Alliance Program, OSHA works 

with groups to develop compliance assistance 

tools and resources to share with workers and 

employers, and educate workers and employers 

about their rights and responsibilities.

Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP)

The VPP recognize employers and workers in 

the private sector and federal agencies who have 

implemented effective safety and health programs 

and maintain injury and illness rates below the 

national average for their respective industries.
16

Occupational Safety and Health 

Training Courses

OSHA partners with more than 25 OSHA Training 

Institute Education Centers at multiple locations 

throughout the United States to deliver courses 

on OSHA standards and occupational safety and 

health topics to thousands of students a year. 

For more information on training courses, visit 

www.osha.gov/otiec.

OSHA Educational Materials

OSHA has many types of educational materials 

to assist employers and workers in finding and 

preventing workplace hazards. 

All OSHA publications are free at www.osha.gov/

publications and www.osha.gov/ebooks. 

You can also call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) to 

order publications.

Employers and safety and health professionals can 

sign-up for QuickTakes, OSHA’s free, twice-monthly 

online newsletter with the latest news about OSHA 

initiatives and products to assist in finding and 

preventing workplace hazards. To sign up, visit 

www.osha.gov/quicktakes.
17

How to Contact OSHA

Under the Occupational Safety and Health 

Act of 1970, employers are responsible for 

providing safe and healthful workplaces for their 

employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these 

conditions for America’s workers by setting and 

enforcing standards, and providing training, 

education and assistance. For more information, 

visit www.osha.gov or call OSHA at 1-800-321-

OSHA (6742), TTY 1-877-889-5627.

For assistance, contact us.

We are OSHA. We can help.

@ _DOL

Follow OSHA on Twitter!
18

OSHA Regional Offices

Region 1

Boston Regional Office

(CT*, ME*, MA*, NH, RI, VT*)

JFK Federal Building

25 New Sudbury Street, Room E340 

Boston, MA 02203

(617) 565-9860 (617) 565-9827 Fax 

Region 2

New York Regional Office

(NJ*, NY*, PR*, VI*)

Federal Building

201 Varick Street, Room 670

New York, NY 10014

(212) 337-2378 (212) 337-2371 Fax

Region 3

Philadelphia Regional Office

(DE, DC, MD*, PA, VA*, WV)

The Curtis Center

170 S. Independence Mall West, Suite 740 West

Philadelphia, PA 19106-3309

(215) 861-4900 (215) 861-4904 Fax

Region 4

Atlanta Regional Office

(AL, FL, GA, KY*, MS, NC*, SC*, TN*)

Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center

61 Forsyth Street, SW, Room 6T50

Atlanta, GA 30303

(678) 237-0400 (678) 237-0447 Fax

Region 5

Chicago Regional Office

(IL*, IN*, MI*, MN*, OH, WI)

John C. Kluczynski Federal Building 

230 South Dearborn Street, Room 3244

Chicago, IL 60604

(312) 353-2220 (312) 353-7774 Fax

Region 6

Dallas Regional Office

(AR, LA, NM*, OK, TX)

A. Maceo Smith Federal Building 

525 Griffin Street, Room 602

Dallas, TX 75202

(972) 850-4145 (972) 850-4149 Fax
19

Region 7

Kansas City Regional Office

(IA*, KS, MO, NE)

Two Pershing Square Building

2300 Main Street, Suite 1010

Kansas City, MO 64108-2416

(816) 283-8745 (816) 283-0547 Fax

Region 8

Denver Regional Office

(CO, MT, ND, SD, UT*, WY*)

Cesar Chavez Memorial Building

1244 Speer Boulevard, Suite 551

Denver, CO 80204

(720) 264-6550 (720) 264-6585 Fax

Region 9

San Francisco Regional Office

(AZ*, CA*, HI*, NV*, and American Samoa, 

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands)

San Francisco Federal Building 

90 7th Street, Suite 2650

San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 625-2547 (415) 625-2534 Fax

Region 10

Seattle Regional Office

(AK*, ID, OR*, WA*)

Fifth & Yesler Tower

300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1280

Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 757-6700 (206) 757-6705 Fax

*These states and territories operate their own OSHAapproved job safety and health plans and cover state 

and local government employees as well as private 

sector employees. The Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, 

Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Virgin 

Islands programs cover public employees only. 

(Private sector workers in these states are covered by 

Federal OSHA). States with approved programs must 

have standards that are identical to, or at least as 

effective as, the Federal OSHA standards.

Note: To get contact information for OSHA area 

offices, OSHA-approved State Plans and OSHA 

consultation projects, please visit us online at 

www.osha.gov or call us at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).
20

Appendix: The Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 

Act of 1996 (SBREFA)

The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA) gives small 

businesses help in understanding and complying 

with OSHA regulations and allows them a voice 

in developing new regulations. Under SBREFA, 

OSHA must:

 Produce Small Entity Compliance Guides for

some agency rules;

 Be responsive to small business inquiries

about complying with the Agency’s

regulations;

 Submit final rules to Congress for review;

 Have a penalty reduction policy for small

businesses; and

 Involve small businesses in developing

proposed rules expected to significantly affect

a large number of small entities through Small

Business Advocacy Review Panels.

Commenting on Enforcement Actions

Under a law passed by Congress in 1996, 

the Small Business Administration (SBA) has 

established an SBA Ombudsman and SBA 

Regulatory Fairness Boards to investigate small 

business complaints about Federal agency 

enforcement actions.

If you are a small business and believe that you 

have been treated unfairly by OSHA, you may file 

an electronic comment/complaint with the SBA 

Ombudsman online at: www.sba.gov/ombudsman. 

Or you may contact the SBA’s Office of the 

National Ombudsman:

 Toll-free Phone: (888) REG-FAIR (734-3247)

 Fax: (202) 481-5719

 E-mail: ombudsman@sba.gov
21

 Mail:

Office of the National Ombudsman

U.S. Small Business Administration

409 3rd Street, S.W., MC2120

Washington, DC 20416

For more information on SBREFA or to view the 

SBREFA Act in its entirety, visit the webpage: 

advocacy.sba.gov.

NOTE: Filing a complaint with the SBA 

Ombudsman does not affect any obligation that 

you may have to comply with an OSHA citation 

or other enforcement action. Nor does it mean 

that you need not take other available legal steps 

to protect your interests.
(800) 321-OSHA (6742)
For more information:

Occupational 

Safety and Health

Administration

www.osha.gov (800) 321-OSHA (6742)

U.S. Department of Labor