From the moment OSHA arrives to the moment a penalty check is written — every stage of the PSM enforcement process, with timeframes and what you should be doing at each step.
A PSM enforcement action from first contact to final payment typically spans 6 to 18 months. Each stage has deadlines that matter — missing them can foreclose your options.
Inspector presents credentials and explains the basis for inspection (NEP, complaint, fatality, follow-up). Walkaround and records review begin. Opening conference establishes scope.
Your immediate obligations: Designate an employer representative. Begin gathering requested documents. Do not instruct employees to refuse interviews.
Inspector reviews all PSM element documentation, interviews employees, photographs conditions, and identifies apparent violations. NEP inspections typically run 3–10 business days depending on facility complexity.
During inspection: Provide requested documents promptly. Accompany the inspector. Begin voluntary abatement of obvious violations — this supports a Good Faith showing but does not obligate you to admit a violation exists.
Inspector describes apparent violations identified. This is not the citation — it is preliminary. You have the right to provide additional documentation or context at this stage.
Key action: Note every apparent violation mentioned. These become the basis for citations. Ask for clarification. Provide any documentation you have that addresses the apparent violation.
OSHA has 6 months from the last day of the inspection to issue a citation. The citation specifies: the standard violated, description of the violation, proposed penalty amount, and abatement deadline.
What you receive: A formal citation document with penalty amounts and abatement dates. You have 15 working days from receipt to request an informal conference or file a Notice of Contest. This deadline is hard — missing it forfeits your contest rights.
You may request a meeting with the OSHA Area Director to discuss citations before they become final. This is where most penalty reductions are negotiated — without formal legal proceedings.
You can: present additional documentation, demonstrate abatement actions, negotiate citation characterization (willful → serious reduces the ceiling), and negotiate penalty reductions in exchange for faster abatement timelines.
If informal conference doesn't resolve the citations, filing a Notice of Contest transfers the case to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). This preserves your right to a formal hearing.
Important: Filing a contest does NOT suspend your abatement obligation. Continue correcting the violations — Failure to Abate penalties accrue daily regardless of contest status.
An OSHRC Administrative Law Judge is assigned. Pre-hearing discovery, settlement negotiations, and eventually a hearing may occur. Most cases settle before a formal hearing. The ALJ can increase penalties as well as reduce them.
After ALJ decision: either party can petition the full OSHRC for review. After OSHRC: either party can seek review in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. The process can span years at these levels.
Once citations become final (either through expiration of contest period, settlement, or final OSHRC order), penalties are due. Payment is made to OSHA. Abatement must be certified complete.
After resolution: Citations are now on your enforcement record. They affect the Repeat violation classification for the next 5 years — any substantially similar violation at any facility in your corporate family is now a Repeat.