Violations are priced per instance. Do the math.

The gravity-based penalty starts from severity and probability, then adjusts: size reductions up to 70% for the smallest employers, good-faith reductions up to 25% for demonstrated safety programs, and 10% for a clean three-year history. Willful and repeat classifications erase most goodwill — and repeat looks across all establishments of the employer for five years, which is how multi-site companies accumulate six-figure citations from repeated ladder violations.

Note the per-instance arithmetic: four employees on an unprotected edge can be four serious violations. A willful classification on a fatality also opens criminal referral territory. The real budget line, though, is usually indirect — increased EMR driving insurance and bid eligibility, abatement costs on a deadline, and litigation exposure that outlasts the citation.

Twenty-two state plans cover private employers and must be at least as effective as federal OSHA, with penalty structures that generally track the federal maximums after the 2015 inflation-adjustment law. Amounts adjust each January; the figures above reflect the 2026 adjustment. Always verify the current year's numbers — in RegLogic, the enforcement-related parts stay current automatically.