OSHA Construction Penalties in FY2025: $140.5 Million Proposed, $108.9 Million on the Books

Federal OSHA proposed $140.5 million in penalties to construction employers in fiscal year 2025. After informal settlements and contests, $108.9 million is on the record, 22.5% less. That average hides the real pattern. Half of the cases weren't touched at all. The other half were cut, by a median of 40%. And the size of the cut depends less on the size of the case than on what the citation was for and which state the inspector worked in.

In FY2025, federal OSHA proposed $140.5 million in penalties to construction employers; after informal settlements under 29 CFR 1903.20 and contests, the current total is $108.9 million, 22.5% lower, with 48.6% of cases reduced by a median of 40%.

At a glance (FY2025, federal OSHA, construction NAICS 23): 26,543 citations · 10,781 inspections · $140.5M proposed · $108.9M current (−22.5%) · 48.6% of cases reduced, median cut 40% · 61 cases taken to zero · willful −15.1%, other-than-serious −31.5% · state range −9.7% (Alabama) to −44.7% (New Hampshire).

Where the money moves

A citation arrives with a proposed penalty. It already includes the gravity-based amount and the reductions for size, history and good faith that the Field Operations Manual applies before issuance (how that formula works). What happens next is negotiation, and OSHA's own manual says who holds the pen:

"Area Directors can amend abatement dates, reclassify violations (e.g., willful to serious, serious to other-than-serious), and modify or withdraw a penalty, a citation, or a citation item where evidence is established during the informal conference to show that the changes are justified. Area Directors can negotiate the amount of proposed penalties, depending on the circumstances of the case and the particular improvements in employee safety and health that can be obtained."

OSHA Field Operations Manual, chapter 8, verbatim

The informal conference itself is 29 CFR 1903.20. A deal signed there, before the contest period runs out, is an Informal Settlement Agreement. After a notice of contest under 1903.17, the Area Director can still settle, through a Formal Settlement Agreement negotiated with the Regional Solicitor. And whatever changes, 1903.16 requires the employer to post the amendments where the citation was posted.

One trap sits in the middle of all this. 1903.20 says in terms that a conference, or a request for one, doesn't "operate as a stay of any 15-working-day period for filing a notice of intention to contest." Miss the 15 working days while you wait for a meeting and the citation becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. 659(a), at the proposed amount.

The gap, by type of violation

Two readings stand out. First, willful citations move least. Part of the reason is the floor: 29 CFR 1903.15(d)(1) sets a willful minimum, $11,823 in 2026, so there is less room between the proposal and the lowest defensible number. Second, repeat citations, 8.7% of the count, carry 24.7% of the current dollars. The repeat classification is where a construction company's penalty exposure concentrates, and it is the one a settlement changes least after willful.

The classification in this table is the one on record at extraction. A willful citation reclassified to serious in a settlement appears here as serious, at its settled amount.

Half the cases moved, the other half didn't

Counting by inspection, not by citation item:

• 10,555 cases carried a proposed penalty.
• 5,133, 48.6%, ended with a lower current total. The median cut among them was 40%.
• 61 were taken to zero: every penalty withdrawn or vacated.
• The rest, just over half, stand at the amount OSHA proposed.

That split matters more than the 22.5% average. An employer who reads "OSHA settles for about a fifth off" and waits is reading a blend of two groups: cases that went to an informal conference with something to show, and cases that didn't.

The size of the case doesn't predict the cut

From a $3,000 case to a six-figure one, the aggregate cut stays between 19% and 25%. Bigger cases don't get a proportionally bigger discount.

The state does predict it

Federal-jurisdiction states with at least 300 construction citations in FY2025:

Same federal statute, same penalty regulation, same manual, and a spread of 35 points. Settlements are negotiated office by office, and the numbers show it. These are aggregates, not a promise for your case, and State Plan states such as California, Washington and Michigan run their own programs and aren't in this table (how State Plans enforce differently).

By standard

The ten construction standards with the largest proposed totals:

Fall protection moves less than excavation. The residential fall citation is the most common and often a repeat (the 1926.501(b)(13) data), which fits the lower cut.

What to do the week the citation arrives

1. Start the 15-working-day count on the day you receive it. Weekends and federal holidays don't count; the informal conference doesn't pause it (29 CFR 1903.20).
2. Post the citation where the violation occurred, or where it will be seen, as 1903.16(a) requires, and keep it up until the violation is abated or for 3 working days, whichever is later (1903.16(b)).
3. Fix what you can and document it. Photos, purchase orders, training records. The abatement certification of 1903.19 is due for every item that stands, and evidence of "improvements in employee safety and health" is the currency the manual names. Our citation response guide walks through each document, and the abatement date extension (PMA) if you need more time.
4. Ask for the informal conference early, with the documentation in hand. If there is no signed agreement before day 15, file the notice of contest in writing and keep negotiating (the contest path).
5. Price the worst case. Our OSHA fine calculator runs the proposed amount against the 2026 maximums.

HazComFast's litigation defense package groups your records under four headings, work rules, training, inspection and discipline, from JHAs and toolbox talks to corrective actions and permits, and flags any heading that's empty. Your full record exports at any time, on every plan.

Methodology and limits

• Source. U.S. Department of Labor OSHA enforcement data, inspection and violation tables, retrieved September 26, 2026.
• Scope. Citations issued October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 on inspections of construction employers (NAICS 23) under federal jurisdiction; State Plan inspections and deleted citations excluded. Cross-check: OSHA's Frequently Cited Standards tool, extracted August 15, 2026, gives 26,559 citations, 10,793 inspections and $108,975,539 in current penalties for the same scope.
• Proposed and current. "Proposed" is the initial penalty on each citation. "Current" is the amount on record at extraction, after informal and formal settlements and contest outcomes. It isn't a payment ledger, and open contests can still change it.
• Classification. The violation type is the one on record at extraction.
• Cases. A case is one inspection; its proposed and current totals add its citation items.
• Not measured. Why a given case was reduced; the data records amounts, not reasons.

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Sources & verification (counts extracted September 26, 2026; regulatory texts read September 29, 2026): enforcement counts from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement data (data.dol.gov); Area Director settlement authority from the OSHA Field Operations Manual, chapter 8, on osha.gov; 29 CFR 1903.15(d), 1903.16, 1903.17, 1903.19 and 1903.20 read on the eCFR; 29 U.S.C. 659 on govinfo.gov. Related: how OSHA prices a violation, OSHA penalties in 2026 and OSHA inspections and citations. General guidance, not legal advice.