OSHA Penalties by State
OSHA Penalties in New Mexico (2026)
New Mexico runs an OSHA-approved State Plan administered by New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB), covering private-sector employers. In 2026, a serious violation carries up to $16,071 and a willful or repeat violation up to $160,727 under the state's own maximums.
Verified vs OSHA sources · 2026-10-05
New Mexico is an OSHA-approved State Plan covering both private and public employers. Private-sector construction employers in this state answer to the state plan, not federal OSHA. Its standards must be at least as effective as federal OSHA, and some state plans set higher penalty maximums. A serious violation carries up to $16,071 and a willful or repeat violation up to $160,727 per violation in 2026.
29 CFR 1903.15state statute2026 amounts unchanged from 2025, with no inflation increase.
Is New Mexico federal OSHA or a state plan?
New Mexico runs a full OSHA-approved state plan covering private and public employers, administered by New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB).
Private-sector construction employers in this state answer to the state plan, not federal OSHA. Its standards must be at least as effective as federal OSHA, and some state plans set higher penalty maximums.
29 CFR 190229 approved state plans
Compare all 29 plans, their agencies and their penalty caps on the OSHA State Plans hub. How the New Mexico plan works, its own standards and its HazCom rule: New Mexico State Plan guide.
Whose HazCom rule applies in New Mexico?
New Mexico has its own hazard communication rule to read. OSHA lists hazard communication among this plan’s own standards, one of 10 full State Plans, out of 22. That label says a state rule exists, not what it contains: some states write a separate text, some deliver the federal text under their own numbering at fixed dates, and some add a state right-to-know layer on top of the federal standard.
New Mexico carries hazard communication across all three sectors (general industry, construction and agriculture) and incorporates 29 CFR Part 1910 without naming an edition date.
Rule: 11.5.2.9 NMAC (with 11.5.3 NMAC applying Part 1910 to construction)
11.5.2.9 NMAC states that "the provisions of 29 CFR Part 1910, Occupational Safety and Health Standards ... are hereby incorporated into this section", with no edition date and no Federal Register notice named, which is unlike the states that freeze at a date. Section last effective 10/30/08. Its hazard-communication passages track the federal text closely: the multi-site SDS allowance mirrors 1910.1200(g)(9) and the training trigger mirrors (h)(1).
Adoption verified 2026-08-07 against OSHA’s state-plan record. HCS 2024 deadlines by state plan.
Chemical inventory reporting (EPCRA Tier II) in New Mexico
Only a .t2s file from Tier2 Submit is accepted, emailed to HAZMAT@DHSEM.NM.gov; no .zip, no PDF, no paper, and E-Plan is not required.
New Mexico Tier II: filing system, deadline and fees, in the state's own words
New Mexico Penalty Rates (2026)
Per-violation civil penalties. New Mexico sets its own maximums (see note below). NMSA §50-9-24State-set figures, effective April 1, 2024 (OHSB directive 24-08, Appendix A); §50-9-24(J) requires an April 1 readjustment each year; 2025 and 2026 tables not retrieved.
Serious Violation
$16,071
per violation (max)
Willful / Repeat
$160,727
per violation (max)
Failure to Abate
$16,071
per day
New Mexico sets its own penalty maximums. New Mexico sets its own maximums under NMSA §50-9-24, and these are the amounts effective April 1, 2024 under OHSB directive 24-08, Appendix A: willful or repeat up to $160,727 with a $11,513 willful minimum (§50-9-24.A); serious $16,071 (.B); other-than-serious $16,071 (.C); failure to abate $16,071 per day beyond the abatement date (.D); posting $16,071 (.G). Read against the federal figures of the same year, $16,131 serious and $161,323 willful, New Mexico was within $60 and $596 of federal, effectively parity rather than a lighter regime. §50-9-24(J) requires the Cabinet Secretary to readjust the amounts by April 1 each year on the previous calendar year's CPI, so a later OHSB table governs an open case, and the operative number for any given year is the one in the Appendix A in force on the citation date.
| Violation type | Minimum | Maximum | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious | State schedule | $16,071 | NMSA §50-9-24 |
| Other-Than-Serious | $0 | $16,071 | NMSA §50-9-24 |
| Willful | $11,513 | $160,727 | NMSA §50-9-24 |
| Repeated | State schedule | $160,727 | NMSA §50-9-24 |
| Failure to Abate | None | $16,071 / day | NMSA §50-9-24 |
New Mexico sets these maximums by state law; reductions for size, good faith and history follow the state agency’s own penalty policy, not the federal manual.
New Mexico Construction Enforcement (FY2025)
OSHA · FY2025Construction (NAICS 23) enforcement by New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB) for October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025.
97
Construction citations
43
Inspections with citations
$402,840
Penalties (current amounts)
Source: OSHA Frequently Cited Standards, NAICS 23 (New Mexico, FY2025).
Work fatality rates in New Mexico, 2024
3.6
fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time workers, all industries
Not published
BLS did not publish a construction rate for this state in 2024
Source: BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: fatal injury rates by state of incident and industry, all ownerships, 2024 . BLS computes state rates with CPS and LAUS data; they rank states against each other and are not compared here with the national hours-based rate.
Help and oversight in New Mexico
Free, confidential help: OSHA On-Site Consultation
In New Mexico, the program is Occupational Health & Safety Bureau (New Mexico Environment Department). OSHA describes it as “Primarily for smaller businesses, no-cost, confidential consultations help employers identify and address hazards and establish or improve safety and health programs.” It is separate from OSHA enforcement; the employer commits to correcting serious hazards.
New Mexico consultation program · OSHA consultation directory
Read on osha.gov and the state's official statute site, September 26, 2026.
New Mexico OSHA Profile
- •Who enforces private construction: New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB) (State Plan).
- •Maximum penalties: $16,071 serious / $160,727 willful-repeat (state-set), $16,071/dayfailure-to-abate.
- •To contest: New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB) runs its own contest and review process under state law; the deadline is on the citation.
- •FY2025 enforcement: 97 construction citations across 43 inspections ($402,840 in penalties).
Frequently-Cited OSHA Standards & New Mexico Guides
Frequently-cited OSHA construction standards, each with a guide specific to New Mexico (penalties, common violations, checklist).Where shown, citation counts are federal OSHA construction totals, national, FY2025. New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB) enforces its own equivalent requirements in New Mexico.
- Fall Protection29 CFR 1926.5016,772 citations · $44,891,816 · federal national FY2025
- HazCom / GHS29 CFR 1910.1200698 citations · $984,054 · federal national FY2025
- Ladders (Construction)29 CFR 1926.10532,758 citations · $9,582,763 · federal national FY2025
- Scaffolding29 CFR 1926.4512,152 citations · $7,646,921 · federal national FY2025
- Respiratory Protection29 CFR 1910.134
- Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)29 CFR 1910.147
- Forklifts29 CFR 1910.178
- Stairways (Construction)29 CFR 1926.1052
- PPE General Requirements29 CFR 1910.132
- Confined Spaces29 CFR 1910.146
Construction trades inspected most in New Mexico
Inspections of construction employers opened in New Mexico from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, by the inspected employer's industry: 76 in all, federal OSHA and State Plan combined.
| Industry (2022 NAICS) | Inspections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 238160 Roofing Contractors | 12 | 15.8% |
| 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | 9 | 11.8% |
| 236115 New Single-Family Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders) | 7 | 9.2% |
| 237310 Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction | 6 | 7.9% |
| 238130 Framing Contractors | 6 | 7.9% |
HazComFast count from the Labor Department's OSHA enforcement data: inspections of construction employers (NAICS 23) opened from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, federal OSHA and State Plan combined, grouped by the inspected employer's 2022 NAICS industry. data.dol.gov · NAICS 2022, sector 23
FAQ: OSHA in New Mexico
▸Is New Mexico a federal OSHA or state-plan state?
New Mexico is an OSHA-approved State Plan covering both private and public employers. Private-sector construction employers in this state answer to the state plan, not federal OSHA. Its standards must be at least as effective as federal OSHA, and some state plans set higher penalty maximums.
▸What are the maximum OSHA penalties in New Mexico in 2026?
New Mexico sets its own maximums: New Mexico sets its own maximums under NMSA §50-9-24, and these are the amounts effective April 1, 2024 under OHSB directive 24-08, Appendix A: willful or repeat up to $160,727 with a $11,513 willful minimum (§50-9-24.A); serious $16,071 (.B); other-than-serious $16,071 (.C); failure to abate $16,071 per day beyond the abatement date (.D); posting $16,071 (.G). Read against the federal figures of the same year, $16,131 serious and $161,323 willful, New Mexico was within $60 and $596 of federal, effectively parity rather than a lighter regime. §50-9-24(J) requires the Cabinet Secretary to readjust the amounts by April 1 each year on the previous calendar year's CPI, so a later OHSB table governs an open case, and the operative number for any given year is the one in the Appendix A in force on the citation date. Serious violations carry up to $16,071 each (other-than-serious the same), and Willful or Repeat violations up to $160,727 each. Failure-to-Abate runs up to $16,071 per day. These 2026 amounts are unchanged from 2025 (no inflation adjustment).
▸Does New Mexico have its own OSHA plan?
Yes. New Mexico operates a full state plan administered by New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB), covering both private and public employers. State plans must be "at least as effective" as federal OSHA and may set higher penalties.
▸How many OSHA construction citations does New Mexico see?
In FY2025 (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025), OSHA construction inspections in New Mexico produced 97 citations across 43 inspections, with $402,840 in penalties at current amounts (OSHA Frequently Cited Standards, NAICS 23, Construction). Because New Mexico runs its own State Plan, these are the state agency's own figures.
▸Did OSHA penalties go up in 2026 in New Mexico?
No. The 2026 federal maximums are unchanged from 2025 because the required CPI adjustment was not published (OMB Memo M-26-11), so the 2025 amounts carry forward unchanged. 29 CFR 1903.15 identifies January 15, 2025 as the effective reference for these figures. New Mexico's state-set maximums are tracked separately by New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB). Do not treat 2026 as an increase.
▸Which OSHA violations are cited most in New Mexico construction?
New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB) cited 29 CFR 1926.501 most often in New Mexico construction in FY2025, 25 times (OSHA Frequently Cited Standards). Nationally, federal OSHA cited fall protection (29 CFR 1926.501) most often in construction in FY2025, 6,772 times (OSHA Frequently Cited Standards).
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Sources & verification
- OSHA Penalties (osha.gov/penalties)
- OSHA State Plans (osha.gov/stateplans)
- 2026 Annual Adjustments to OSHA Civil Penalties
Penalty amounts and plan status were checked against OSHA sources on 2026-10-05. This page is general information, not legal advice. State plans set their own amounts and procedures; confirm current figures with New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OHSB) before relying on them.
Get the Binder in Order Before the Inspector Arrives. Are You Ready?
OSHA does not give advance notice of inspections (29 CFR 1903.6). Get the binder in order before the opening conference, not during it.
Serious violation, New Mexico
$16,071
per violation (max)
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