Indiana OSHA State Plan (IOSHA): what a contractor needs to know

Who the IOSHA plan covers

The Indiana State Plan applies to all private sector workplaces in the state with the following exceptions:

1. Maritime employment, including shipyard employment, marine terminals, and longshoring;
2. Contract workers and contractor-operated facilities engaged in United States Postal Service mail operations;
3. The enforcement of the field sanitation standard (29 CFR 1928.110) and the enforcement of the temporary labor camps standard (29 CFR 1910.142) with respect to any agricultural establishment where workers are engaged in "agricultural employment" within the meaning of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 USC 1802(3) – regardless of the number of workers – including workers engaged in hand packing of produce into containers, whether done on the ground, on a moving machine, or in a temporary packing shed, except that Indiana retains enforcement responsibility over agricultural temporary labor camps for workers engaged in egg, poultry, or red meat production, or the post-harvest processing of agricultural or horticultural commodities;
4. Any hazard, industry, geographical area, operation, or facility over which the State Plan is unable to effectively exercise jurisdiction for reasons not related to the required performance or structure of the plan; and
5. All working conditions of aircraft cabin crewmembers onboard aircraft in operation.

The Indiana State Plan also applies to state and local government employers. It does not apply to federal government employers including the United States Postal Service. Federal OSHA covers the issues not covered by the Indiana Plan except for the enforcement of the field sanitation and temporary labor camp standards, as described above, which is the responsibility of the Wage-Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition, federal OSHA retains enforcement of the anti-retaliation provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Section 11(c), 29 USC 660(c), with respect to the private sector. IOSHA also investigates private and state and local government workplace retaliation cases under a provision analogous to Section 11(c).

Source: OSHA, Indiana State Plan, read October 1, 2026.

Hazard communication in Indiana

The federal compliance dates and how each State Plan adopted HCS 2024 are compared on HazCom deadlines 2026 and in HCS 2024 deadlines by State Plan. The rule every other State Plan cites is in the State Plan HazCom rule map.

Penalties and appeals

Key facts

• OSHA first approved the Indiana State Plan on March 6, 1974 ( 39 FR 8612 ); final approval under section 18(e) came on September 26, 1986 (51 FR 34215).
• A summary of the Indiana State Plan is codified at 29 CFR 1952.17.
• OSHA lists 5 exceptions to the plan's private-sector coverage, and federal OSHA covers what the plan does not.
• Federal OSHA keeps enforcement of the anti-retaliation provision of section 11(c) of the OSH Act for the private sector, according to OSHA's page for the plan.
• Hazard communication in Indiana runs through IOSSC Adoption by Reference Bulletins #24-01 and #24-02 (IC 22-8-1.1-16.2).
• In FY2025 (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025), IOSHA issued 411 construction citations in 205 inspections, with $465,205 in current penalties (OSHA cited-standards tool).
• Indiana's maximum for a serious violation is $7,000, set by IC 22-8-1.1-27.1.