North Carolina OSHA State Plan (NC OSH): what a contractor needs to know

Who the NC OSH plan covers

The NC OSH Division covers private sector workplaces in the state with the exception of:

1. Maritime employment, including shipyard employment, marine terminals, and longshoring;
2. Contract workers and contractor-operated facilities engaged in United States Postal Service (USPS) mail operations;
3. Employment on Indian reservations;
4. Enforcement relating to any contractors or subcontractors on any federal establishment where the land has been ceded to the federal government;
5. Railroad employment, not otherwise regulated by another federal agency;
6. Enforcement on military bases;
7. The American National Red Cross

In addition, any hazard, industry, geographical area, operation or facility over which the North Carolina State Plan is unable to effectively exercise jurisdiction for reasons which OSHA determines are not related to the required performance or structure of the plan will be determined to be an issue not covered by the State Plan which has received final approval and covered by federal enforcement. The North Carolina State Plan does not cover federal government employers including USPS. Federal OSHA covers the issues not covered by the North Carolina State Plan. 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. NC OSH also investigates private and state and local government workplace retaliation cases under a provision analogous to Section 11(c).

Source: OSHA, North Carolina State Plan, read October 1, 2026.

Hazard communication in North Carolina

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 North Carolina State Plan on February 1, 1973 (38 FR 3042); final approval under section 18(e) came on December 18, 1996 (61 FR 66601); amended on June 9, 2000 ( 65 FR 36621 ) and October 19, 2000 ( 65 FR 62612 ).
• A summary of the North Carolina State Plan is codified at 29 CFR 1952.5.
• OSHA lists 7 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.
• OSHA's page lists 10 standards North Carolina wrote for itself, 6 of them in construction.
• Hazard communication in North Carolina runs through 13 NCAC 07F .0101.
• In FY2025 (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025), NC OSH issued 1,610 construction citations in 498 inspections, with $2,935,359 in current penalties (OSHA cited-standards tool).