Free tool
Repeat-exposure calculator
A citation is rarely expensive the first time. The number that matters is what the same violation costs if it is found again within five years.
Repeat-exposure math
What a second citation could cost
Violations can be reclassified as REPEAT for 5 years. Pick a current violation count — the exposure is computed from the statutory maximum, nothing invented.
3 × $165,514 max = $496,542
estimated · statutory maxima, 29 USC 666 as adjusted
Why five years is the number to remember
OSHA may classify a violation as repeat when it is substantially similar to one cited at the same employer within the previous five years. That reclassification takes the maximum from $16,550 to $165,514 per violation — about ten times. For employers with multiple fixed establishments, OSHA generally looks company-wide, so the exposure is not limited to the site that was cited.
This is the arithmetic behind every abatement conversation: the cost of fixing the hazard properly is almost always smaller than the exposure created by leaving it.
Where these figures come from
Statutory maximums under 29 U.S.C. §666, as adjusted annually for inflation. Actual penalties are set by OSHA and are commonly reduced for employer size, good faith and history — treat the result as a ceiling, not a prediction.
OSHA Radar is an independent service built on public U.S. Department of Labor records. Not affiliated with or endorsed by OSHA or any government agency.