Contact an OSHA defense attorney for employers immediately after any serious workplace incident, before OSHA arrives and before making any statements or producing any documents. Because the actions an employer takes in the hours and days following an incident directly shape citation exposure, penalty severity, and litigation risk, early legal involvement is critical. Employers who engage counsel proactively, whether after an incident, upon receiving an inspection notice, or as part of ongoing compliance planning, consistently achieve better outcomes than those who wait. Kelley Kronenberg’s OSHA defense attorneys for employers are available to advise at any stage of the process.

Do not refuse entry, but do not wave the officer through without preparation. Employers have the right to verify credentials, understand the scope of the inspection, and have a company representative present during the walkaround. Additionally, statements made and documents produced during an inspection become part of the evidentiary record and can directly affect citation exposure. Contact Kelley Kronenberg’s OSHA defense attorneys for employers immediately, ideally before the inspection begins.

Employers have exactly 15 working days from receipt of a citation to file a Notice of Contest, and this deadline is strictly enforced. Missing it makes the citation and penalty a final, unappealable order with no meaningful ability to negotiate, reduce, or challenge the findings. Once final, the citation becomes permanent in the employer’s OSHA inspection history, affecting future penalty calculations, contractor prequalification, and insurance. Failure to complete required abatement on time adds further penalties of up to $16,550.00 per day beyond the abatement deadline. Contact Kelley Kronenberg’s OSHA defense attorneys for employers the day a citation arrives, not after an internal review period.

Yes, and most contested citations are resolved through negotiation. Once a Notice of Contest is filed, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor takes over prosecution and settlement negotiations become available. As a result, penalties can be reduced, violations reclassified to less serious categories, and citations sometimes withdrawn entirely. OSHA defense attorneys for employers identify weaknesses in OSHA’s case and use them as leverage before the matter reaches a formal hearing.

A willful violation is OSHA’s most serious classification, reserved for employers who acted with intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the OSH Act. Maximum OSHA penalties for willful violations reach $165,514.00 per violation in 2026, compared to $16,550.00 for serious violations. Because a willful classification can increase exposure in civil litigation, complicate workers’ compensation defenses, and in fatality cases may trigger a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, contesting this classification is often the highest-value step an OSHA defense attorney for employers can take on a client’s behalf. 

Under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, employees are protected from retaliation for filing a complaint with OSHA, participating in an inspection, reporting a workplace injury or illness, raising safety concerns internally, or providing an interview regarding a potential safety violation. A retaliation complaint is separate from a citation and involves its own OSHA investigation. When an employer receives a whistleblower complaint, OSHA typically requests a written response within 20 days. However, employers should contact Kelley Kronenberg’s OSHA defense attorneys for employers immediately upon receiving a complaint, before responding and before taking any further personnel action involving the complaining employee. 

Federal OSHA rules require employers to report any work-related employee fatality within eight hours and any work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. An emergency room visit alone does not trigger this requirement. These obligations apply to all employers under OSHA jurisdiction regardless of company size or industry. Additionally, many states operate their own OSHA programs with stricter timelines, so employers should confirm reporting requirements in every state where they have operations.

Kelley Kronenberg’s OSHA defense attorneys for employers represent clients nationwide across inspections, citation defense, penalty reduction, settlement negotiations, and contested proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The firm represents employers in both federal OSHA jurisdictions and state plan states, from single worksites facing a first citation to multi-location employers managing complex or repeat inspection history. If your company has received a citation or anticipates an inspection, contact Kelley Kronenberg to discuss your options.