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Employers › TX

Transportation & Warehousing · Houston, TX

Southwest Airlines CO.

According to OSHA enforcement records (2010–2026), Southwest Airlines CO. ranks #27,094 of 99,447 penalized U.S. employers by total current penalty, with a relatively clean safety record: 3 violations across 3 inspections.

Upper half by penalty67% serious
$13,348
OSHA penalties
3
Violations cited
3
OSHA inspections
#27,094
of 99,447 penalized employers

Southwest Airlines CO. in Houston, TX has been the subject of 3 OSHA workplace inspections and 3 citations since 2010, according to enforcement records from the U.S. Department of Labor. Total penalties assessed: $13,348. All enforcement data below is sourced from the DOL public enforcement databases at data.dol.gov.

The record in one line

OSHA has inspected Southwest Airlines CO. 3 times over 5 years, roughly once every couple of years. These inspections resulted in 3 violations, averaging 1.0 per inspection. According to OSHA enforcement records, its total current penalty ranks #27,094 of 99,447 penalized U.S. employers (the upper half of penalized employers nationally). Of these, 2 were classified as serious - indicating hazards that could cause death or serious harm. Against the Transportation & Warehousing industry average of 2 inspections per employer, this runs moderately above peers (1.6x the sector average) on inspection frequency. For comparison, Central Transport International, INC. in Latham, NY is another transportation & warehousing employer with 2 OSHA inspections on record and $13,351 in current penalties.

1.0
violations per inspection
66.7%
of violations were serious
#27,094
of 99,447 penalized employers

Compliance score

C 75/100
  • C OSHA safety compliance: 3 violations across 3 OSHA inspections (1.0 per inspection), vs. national p10 0.0 (best) / p90 5.5 (worst) among 145,626 inspected employers.

Channels are separate federal datasets: a dimension marked not applicable simply has no record in that dataset for this employer, not a good or bad score.

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How Southwest Airlines CO. compares on OSHA penalties

Total current penalty vs the Transportation & Warehousing per-employer average

in penalties

What this shows Southwest Airlines CO. runs well above peers (2.2x the sector average) in total OSHA penalties.

Source U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA enforcement extracts As of 2026

Where this penalty ranks nationally

Total current OSHA penalty vs every U.S. employer with a nonzero penalty

$13,348 Bottom 27% least affordable more affordable than 27% of 99,447 U.S. employers with a penalty

$0–$5,000: 43,959 U.S. employers with a penalty (44%). Below this entry. $5,000–$10,000: 20,304 U.S. employers with a penalty (20%). Below this entry. $10,000–$15,000: 11,027 U.S. employers with a penalty (11%). This entry sits in this band. $15,000–$20,000: 6,546 U.S. employers with a penalty (7%). Above this entry. $20,000–$25,000: 4,175 U.S. employers with a penalty (4%). Above this entry. $25,000–$30,000: 2,877 U.S. employers with a penalty (3%). Above this entry. $30,000–$35,000: 2,036 U.S. employers with a penalty (2%). Above this entry. $35,000–$40,000: 1,493 U.S. employers with a penalty (2%). Above this entry. $40,000–$45,000: 1,095 U.S. employers with a penalty (1%). Above this entry. $45,000–$50,000: 785 U.S. employers with a penalty (1%). Above this entry. $50,000–$55,000: 5,150 U.S. employers with a penalty (5%). Above this entry. This employer $0 $55,000 every penalized U.S. employer, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $5K-wide band; taller bars hold more U.S. employers with a penalty. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA enforcement extracts · 2026

Does more inspection scrutiny mean more findings?

Each dot is one of 21 Transportation & Warehousing employers with an OSHA inspection on record, placed by inspections and violations cited. The highlighted dot is Southwest Airlines CO..

Frequently inspected, many findingsRarely inspected, many findingsFrequently inspected, clean recordBelow median on both3.03.033.03.007.615.222.830.4OSHA inspectionsViolations citedNEW JERSEY TRANSIT B…, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 8NEW JERSEY TRANSIT M…, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 4LASERSHIP, INC., OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 3SOUTHWEST AIRLINES C…, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 1PREFERRED PRECISION …, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 21ST EXPRESS, INC., OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 1KWICK-WAY TRANSPORTA…, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 10US POSTAL SERVICE, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 3MILLER ELECTRIC MFG CO, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 3U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 0DEFENSE COMMISSARY A…, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 16ALASKA AIRLINES INC, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 0ABF FREIGHT SYSTEM, …, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 11HOUSE OF CHEATHAM LLC, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 15AUTO WAREHOUSING CO., OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 3BUCKS COUNTY RAILROA…, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 29UPS, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 3MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, …, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 2HENDRICKSON TRUCKING…, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 7ABC TOWING, OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 3Southwest Airlines CO., OSHA inspections: 3 · Violations cited: 3
Southwest Airlines CO. has 3 OSHA inspections on record and 3 violations cited. The crosshair marks the median among these Transportation & Warehousing peers. Across this sector's tracked employers, more inspections is moderately associated with more violations found -- not a coincidence, but not a guarantee either.

Southwest Airlines CO. in the Transportation & Warehousing enforcement ledger

In Transportation & Warehousing, Southwest Airlines CO. sits at penalty rank #1,205 of 4,071 penalized establishments ($13,348 assessed).

How Southwest Airlines CO. Compares

Southwest Airlines CO.'s 1.00 violations per inspection compares to the Transportation & Warehousing sector average of 3.2 violations per employer.

Against the Transportation & Warehousing industry average of $6,129 per employer, this employer's current OSHA penalty runs well above peers (2.2x the sector average).

Enforcement detail

OSHA Inspection History

Total Inspections

3

First Inspection

2019-05-17

Last Inspection

2024-07-24

Inspection Span

5 yrs

Violations / Inspection

1.0

Avg Penalty / Inspection

$4,449

Industry Avg / Inspection

$3,295

What this shows 3 inspections over 5 years, averaging 1.0 violations per visit. That's $4,449 per inspection vs. the Transportation & Warehousing average of $3,295.

Enforcement detail

Violation Breakdown

2

Serious

66.7% of total

0

Willful

0.0% of total

0

Repeat

0.0% of total

1

Other-Than-Serious

33.3% of total

What this shows Serious violations involve hazards that could cause death or serious physical harm. Willful violations indicate intentional or knowing disregard of the law. Repeat violations are for hazards previously cited within the past 5 years.

Enforcement detail

Penalty Analysis

Initial Penalty Assessed

$22,248

Current Penalty Amount

$13,348

Penalty Reduction

40.0%

What this shows Penalties were reduced by $8,900 from the initial assessment of $22,248. Reductions may result from informal settlements, formal contests, or negotiated agreements with OSHA.

Industry Safety Context: Transportation & Warehousing

How Southwest Airlines CO. compares to the Transportation & Warehousing sector, which has 9,914 employers tracked by PlainWorker.

Metric Southwest Airlines CO. Industry Avg
Inspections 3 1.9
Violations 3 3.2
Total Penalty $13,348 $6,129
Avg Penalty per Inspection $4,449 $3,295
View all 9,914 employers in Transportation & Warehousing →

Nationwide Transportation & Warehousing peers with similar penalties or inspection counts

Two OSHA-record peer sets for Southwest Airlines CO., both outside TX so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.

Similar current OSHA penalty

Nearest same-sector employers by current assessed penalty ($13,348 here).

Central Transport International, INC. $13,351 NY Sea Solutions INC $13,355 VA United States Postal Service $13,364 VA RLS Logistics $13,367 PA

Similar OSHA inspection count

Same-sector employers with a comparable inspection history outside this state (3 inspections here).

New Jersey Transit Bus Operations 3 insp. Camden, NJ New Jersey Transit Meadows Maintenance Complex 3 insp. Kearny, NJ Lasership, INC. 3 insp. Dayton, NJ Southwest Airlines Company 3 insp. Chicago, IL

Nearby & Similar Employers in Transportation & Warehousing

Showing 5 of 9913 other employers tracked in this sector.

Usps
Cleveland, MO
0 inspections $0
Brian's Taxi
Brockton, MA
0 inspections $0
Central Transport International, INC.
Latham, NY
2 inspections $13,351
Sea Solutions INC
Chesapeake, VA
2 inspections $13,355
Iruka Hawaii Experiences
Honolulu, HI
0 inspections $0

Compare Southwest Airlines CO. vs Usps side-by-side →

What to do with this record

Use Southwest Airlines CO.'s enforcement history as one data point, not the whole picture.

  • A single employer's record can look unusual in isolation. Compare Southwest Airlines CO. against Usps, a similarly-sized employer in the same sector, before drawing conclusions. Compare side-by-side
  • See whether Southwest Airlines CO.'s inspection and penalty record is typical for Transportation & Warehousing or an outlier against the sector's own average. View the Transportation & Warehousing sector
  • Before you accept a job or raise a safety concern, search any employer for its own OSHA inspection history the same way you found this one. Search employers

Figures reflect closed OSHA and WHD federal enforcement actions on record (2010–2026); not every workplace issue results in an inspection or investigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Southwest Airlines CO. safe to work at? ▼
Based on OSHA records, Southwest Airlines CO.'s workplace safety record is relatively clean, with fewer violations than typical. The employer has 3 violations across 3 inspections, including 2 serious violations. Compared to Transportation & Warehousing industry peers, this is above average for penalties. Review the full inspection history below for details.
How many OSHA violations does Southwest Airlines CO. have? ▼
Southwest Airlines CO. has 3 OSHA violations on record, including 2 serious, 0 willful, and 0 repeat violations. The total current penalty amount is $13,348.
How many OSHA inspections has Southwest Airlines CO. had? ▼
Southwest Airlines CO. has had 3 OSHA inspections, with the first recorded on 2019-05-17 and the most recent on 2024-07-24. This averages 1.0 violations per inspection.
What is the total penalty amount for Southwest Airlines CO.? ▼
Southwest Airlines CO. has been assessed $13,348 in current OSHA penalties, reduced from an initial assessment of $22,248 (a 40.0% reduction).
Does Southwest Airlines CO. have any serious or willful violations? ▼
Yes. Southwest Airlines CO. has 2 serious violations. Serious violations involve hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. Willful violations indicate the employer intentionally or knowingly disregarded the law.
What industry does Southwest Airlines CO. operate in? ▼
Southwest Airlines CO. operates in the Transportation & Warehousing sector (NAICS code 488190). This industry has 9,914 employers tracked by PlainWorker, with 18,441 total OSHA inspections and $60.77M in cumulative penalties.
Where does Southwest Airlines CO. rank nationally on OSHA penalties? ▼
Among the 99,447 U.S. employers with a nonzero current OSHA penalty in PlainWorker's corpus, Southwest Airlines CO. ranks #27,094 (the upper half of penalized employers nationally). The ordinal is a live COUNT of employers with a lower total_current_penalty; see the methodology page for the exact derivation.
How does Southwest Airlines CO.'s safety record compare to industry average? ▼
Southwest Airlines CO.'s total OSHA penalty of $13,348 is above the Transportation & Warehousing industry average of $6,129 per employer (2.2x the average). The employer has 3 inspections compared to the industry average of 1.9 per employer. For a direct comparison, Central Transport International, INC. in Latham, NY is a similar transportation & warehousing employer with $13,351 in current penalties.
Data Sources & Methodology ▼

Data as of 2026. Source: U.S. Department of Labor (OSHA, WHD).

Source: OSHA Enforcement Data

Inspection and violation records from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, covering the period 2010–2026. Includes inspection dates, violation types (serious, willful, repeat, other-than-serious), and penalty amounts. Penalties shown are current assessed amounts and may differ from original citations due to settlement, contest, or reduction.

Source: Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Compliance actions from the WHD, covering enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including minimum wage, overtime, and child labor violations. Back wages represent amounts owed to affected employees as determined by WHD investigations.

Employer Matching

Employers are matched across OSHA and WHD datasets by name, state, and city. Employers included in PlainWorker have 2 or more OSHA inspections or $1,000+ in WHD back wages. Data is updated monthly from data.dol.gov.

Verify with OSHA establishment search →

Every figure on PlainWorker is rendered directly from official U.S. Department of Labor OSHA and Wage & Hour Division enforcement records, no number is typed in by an editor. This employer's ratios (penalty-per-violation, industry comparisons) are computed live from the 3 inspections on record. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.