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State enforcement profile · #26 of 56 by penalties · ABOVE-US

Washington — high violations-per-inspection rate

Washington cites 2.53 violations per inspection vs a 2.26 national inspection-weighted average — 28,812 violations across 11,410 inspections.

5,430
Employers
11,410
Inspections
$12.2M
OSHA penalties
$40.2M
Back wages

The state in one line

Washington ranks #26 of 56 U.S. jurisdictions by total OSHA penalties, with 28,812 violations cited across 11,410 inspections and $40.2M in wages recovered for workers.

#26
of 56 states by penalties
2.53
violations per inspection
$2K
avg penalty per employer
966
WHD wage-theft cases

OSHA citation docket

State IMIS book WA · Washington ABOVE-US · LOW-PPE

#26/56 · 11,410 insp · $12.2M

  • BOOK 5,430 employers
  • INSP 11,410 inspections
  • RANK #26 of 56
  • PEN $12.2M
  • RATE 2.53 viol/insp
  • VS-US ABOVE-US
  • WHD $40.2M
  • PHOTO Oregon

Nearest employer-book peer: Oregon ($6.4M penalty gap)

Washington ranks #26 of 56 U.S. jurisdictions by total OSHA penalties, with 28,812 violations cited across 11,410 inspections and $40.2M in wages recovered for workers. OSHA IMIS + DOL WHD citation stamps for this jurisdiction. Read with this state → · Worst-cited employer → · Similar-footprint state → · Compare employers →

Washington in the OSHA-penalty neighbourhood

Total assessed OSHA penalties among this state and nearest employer-book peers

penalties

What this shows Washington carries $12.2M in assessed OSHA penalties, ranked #26 of 56 jurisdictions.

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

Where Washington ranks nationally

Average OSHA penalty per tracked employer, vs all 56 U.S. jurisdictions

$2,251 Bottom 9% least affordable more affordable than 9% of 56 U.S. jurisdictions

$0–$2,000: 5 U.S. jurisdictions (9%). Below this entry. $2,000–$4,000: 9 U.S. jurisdictions (16%). This entry sits in this band. $4,000–$6,000: 17 U.S. jurisdictions (30%). Above this entry. $6,000–$8,000: 10 U.S. jurisdictions (18%). Above this entry. $8,000–$10,000: 5 U.S. jurisdictions (9%). Above this entry. $10,000–$12,000: 4 U.S. jurisdictions (7%). Above this entry. $12,000–$14,000: 2 U.S. jurisdictions (4%). Above this entry. $14,000–$16,000: 3 U.S. jurisdictions (5%). Above this entry. $16,000–$18,000: 0 U.S. jurisdictions (0%). Above this entry. $18,000–$20,000: 0 U.S. jurisdictions (0%). Above this entry. $20,000–$22,000: 1 U.S. jurisdictions (2%). Above this entry. $22,000–$24,000: 0 U.S. jurisdictions (0%). Above this entry. Washington $0 $24,000 every U.S. jurisdiction, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $2K-wide band; taller bars hold more U.S. jurisdictions. 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

Do more violations mean harsher penalties?

Each dot is one of the 56 U.S. jurisdictions with both violation and penalty data, placed by total violations cited and the average current penalty per violation. The highlighted dot is Washington.

High volume, high penaltyLow volume, high penaltyHigh volume, low penaltyBelow median on both020897.041793.962690.983587.9$26.7$1330.4$2634.1$3937.8$5241.6Total violations citedAverage penalty per violationCalifornia, Total violations cited: 62917 · Average penalty per violation: $1931.91New Jersey, Total violations cited: 51588 · Average penalty per violation: $2257.14Texas, Total violations cited: 37481 · Average penalty per violation: $3006.51Ohio, Total violations cited: 33085 · Average penalty per violation: $3209.32Illinois, Total violations cited: 38576 · Average penalty per violation: $2518.72Pennsylvania, Total violations cited: 34307 · Average penalty per violation: $2124.18New York, Total violations cited: 79647 · Average penalty per violation: $851.4Wisconsin, Total violations cited: 23614 · Average penalty per violation: $2667.32Florida, Total violations cited: 20137 · Average penalty per violation: $2911.21Georgia, Total violations cited: 23607 · Average penalty per violation: $2424.16Virginia, Total violations cited: 29121 · Average penalty per violation: $1651.15Michigan, Total violations cited: 67640 · Average penalty per violation: $671.06Alabama, Total violations cited: 14683 · Average penalty per violation: $2955.54Nevada, Total violations cited: 18844 · Average penalty per violation: $1778.2Missouri, Total violations cited: 12358 · Average penalty per violation: $2481.04Massachusetts, Total violations cited: 12091 · Average penalty per violation: $2401.87Connecticut, Total violations cited: 23647 · Average penalty per violation: $1188.05Kansas, Total violations cited: 9514 · Average penalty per violation: $2852.86Tennessee, Total violations cited: 38865 · Average penalty per violation: $633.23Colorado, Total violations cited: 11833 · Average penalty per violation: $1925.51Iowa, Total violations cited: 10267 · Average penalty per violation: $1892.75Nebraska, Total violations cited: 4514 · Average penalty per violation: $3581.2Oklahoma, Total violations cited: 5020 · Average penalty per violation: $2618.51Maryland, Total violations cited: 24360 · Average penalty per violation: $537.35Hawaii, Total violations cited: 9120 · Average penalty per violation: $1397.7Washington, Total violations cited: 28812 · Average penalty per violation: $424.16Alaska, Total violations cited: 11441 · Average penalty per violation: $1050.89Mississippi, Total violations cited: 4912 · Average penalty per violation: $2280.7North Carolina, Total violations cited: 18017 · Average penalty per violation: $593.13Arkansas, Total violations cited: 3343 · Average penalty per violation: $3153.71Maine, Total violations cited: 8054 · Average penalty per violation: $1235.73Puerto Rico, Total violations cited: 11369 · Average penalty per violation: $851.43Delaware, Total violations cited: 1884 · Average penalty per violation: $5004.52Louisiana, Total violations cited: 3408 · Average penalty per violation: $2525.26North Dakota, Total violations cited: 1761 · Average penalty per violation: $4787.03New Hampshire, Total violations cited: 3281 · Average penalty per violation: $2336.7Idaho, Total violations cited: 3829 · Average penalty per violation: $1867.02West Virginia, Total violations cited: 3289 · Average penalty per violation: $2142.24Utah, Total violations cited: 6414 · Average penalty per violation: $1044.66Rhode Island, Total violations cited: 3528 · Average penalty per violation: $1806.54Indiana, Total violations cited: 4225 · Average penalty per violation: $1430.22South Dakota, Total violations cited: 1901 · Average penalty per violation: $3123.16Oregon, Total violations cited: 21930 · Average penalty per violation: $263.72Kentucky, Total violations cited: 3171 · Average penalty per violation: $1801.2Montana, Total violations cited: 2718 · Average penalty per violation: $2076Minnesota, Total violations cited: 9173 · Average penalty per violation: $604.31New Mexico, Total violations cited: 2690 · Average penalty per violation: $1987.11Wyoming, Total violations cited: 2936 · Average penalty per violation: $1582.38Guam, Total violations cited: 3356 · Average penalty per violation: $1368.12Vermont, Total violations cited: 3044 · Average penalty per violation: $1498.54Arizona, Total violations cited: 8689 · Average penalty per violation: $523.14District of Columbia, Total violations cited: 2002 · Average penalty per violation: $1600.22South Carolina, Total violations cited: 5382 · Average penalty per violation: $551.38American Samoa, Total violations cited: 829 · Average penalty per violation: $3521.93Virgin Islands, Total violations cited: 2592 · Average penalty per violation: $737.45Northern Mariana Islands, Total violations cited: 943 · Average penalty per violation: $1423.52
Washington cites 28,812 total violations at an average current penalty of $424.16 per violation. The crosshair marks the median jurisdiction on both axes. Across this dataset, citing more violations is mildly ASSOCIATED WITH A LOWER average penalty per violation, not a higher one -- the opposite of what volume alone might suggest.

Top OSHA & wage enforcement actions in Washington

Ranked by combined OSHA penalties and DOL Wage & Hour Division back wages. Some employers below have wage-theft cases with zero OSHA safety violations, or vice versa; check the Inspections/Violations columns before drawing safety conclusions.

#EmployerInspectionsViolationsPenalty + wages
1King County Metro TransitSeattle22$3.3M
2ZillowSeattle00$2.5M
3Ultra Safe Nuclear CorporationSeattle00$1.5M
4Main Chinese BuffetOlympia00$1.3M
5General Dynamics Land System, Inc.Dupont00$1.0M
6Continental Floral GreensShelton00$962K
7Brothers Landscape Vashon IncVashon00$711K
8Tubro Construction and Carpet CleaningAuburn00$582K
9Spa TherapyBellingham00$521K
10Azimetry Inc.Redmond00$436K
11Pacific Glazing SolutionsWoodinville00$388K
12J & E Meza Plastering, Inc.Pasco00$381K
13Partners Construction INCSeattle628$376K
14Air Design Heating and Air ConditioningSpokane00$332K
15Cannon Construction, IncMilton00$327K
16AEM Consulting, LLCRichland00$311K
17People Tech Group Inc.Bellevue00$310K
18Madison Manor & Edith Posadas, 3(d) EmployerTacoma00$290K
19Evergreen Drywall LLCPuyallup00$286K
20Shell Oil Products U.S.Anacortes810$273K

All employers in Washington

EmployerCityInspectionsPenalty
Ralphs Concrete Pumping INCSeattle2$0
KFC # 78Aberdeen2$0
Papaya ClothingVancouver2$0
Kaiser AlutekSpokane Valley2$0
Enterprise Rent a CarBellingham2$0
McDougall & Sons INCWenatchee2$0
Army Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare & RecreationJoint Base Lewis McChord2$0
Army Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization & SecurityJoint Base Lewis McChord2$0
Army Directorate of Human ResourcesJoint Base Lewis McChord2$0
Thrift Recycling ManagementLakewood2$0
SJS Mechanical ServiceSeattle2$0
Jansen Construction CompanyDayton2$0
W C Construction of Oregon INCPasco2$0
Port of KennewickKennewick2$0
Social Security AdministrationBellingham2$0
Army Directorate of Emergency ServicesJoint Base Lewis McChord2$0
Army Directorate of LogisticsJoint Base Lewis McChord2$0
City Pacific ServicesQuilcene2$0
Kenworth Northwest INCAberdeen2$0
American Ironworks & ErectorsYakima2$0
Great ClipsTacoma2$0
Ariana EnterprisesWenatchee2$0
Natural Factors Nutritional INEverett2$0
Sierra Construction CO INCRedmond2$0
Coastal Steel INCRedmond2$0
Albertsons #402Oak Harbor2$0
Ala Cart Golf Carts LLCRichland2$0
JRT Nurseries (US) INCLynden5$0
Neptune Marine LLCAnacortes2$0
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Smuggling Interdiction and Trade ComplianceSeatac2$0
Macys Department Stores INCVancouver2$0
Car ToysOlympia2$0
Skyview High SchoolVancouver2$0
Interior Wood ProductsOlympia2$0
Transportation GarageVancouver2$0
Kesselring Gun Shop INCBurlington2$0
Aim Aerospace Sumner Sumner OpSumner3$0
Pacific Power & Light COWalla Walla2$0
Master Marine Products INCFerndale2$0
Strongback Metal BoatsBellingham2$0
Wal-Mart Supercenter #4394Airway Heights2$0
B & B FabricatorsArlington3$0
Market Street Ace HardwareChehalis2$0
R G Forestry ConsultantShelton2$0
Edison ElectricMoses Lake2$0
S D Deacon CORP of WashingtonMoses Lake2$0
Okanogan CO Electric Coop INCWinthrop2$0
Bakerview NurseryBellingham2$0
Potelco INCPoulsbo2$0
McKesson Drug CompanyEverett3$0
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Industries in Washington

Enforcement and wage-compliance data broken out by industry sector within Washington.

Accommodation & Food ServicesAdministrative & Waste ServicesAgriculture, Forestry, Fishing & HuntingArts, Entertainment & RecreationConstructionEducational ServicesFinance & InsuranceHealthcare & Social AssistanceInformationManufacturingMining, Quarrying, Oil & GasOtherOther ServicesProfessional & Technical ServicesPublic AdministrationReal Estate & RentalRetail TradeTransportation & WarehousingUtilitiesWholesale Trade

Top Cities in Washington

The 20 cities with the most employers in the federal enforcement record within Washington (of 142 total).

Seattle (698)Tacoma (319)Vancouver (243)Spokane (231)Olympia (150)Everett (137)Bellingham (137)Yakima (124)Kent (115)Puyallup (105)Bellevue (100)Moses Lake (86)Kennewick (74)Pasco (64)Lynnwood (63)Wenatchee (62)Mount Vernon (62)Longview (61)Auburn (58)Chehalis (57)

View all 142 cities in Washington →

Nationwide states with similar OSHA penalties or violation rates

Two enforcement-record peer sets for Washington: nearest jurisdictions by total assessed OSHA penalties and by violations per inspection. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the employer-book peers above.

Similar total OSHA penalties

Nearest jurisdictions by total assessed OSHA penalties ($12.2M here).

Alaska $12.0M Hawaii $12.7M Maryland $13.1M Oklahoma $13.1M

Similar violations per inspection

States with similarly high violations-per-inspection rates (2.53 here vs 2.26 US average).

North Carolina 2.53/insp Ohio 2.57/insp Wisconsin 2.45/insp Arkansas 2.45/insp

Source: OSHA Enforcement Data, U.S. Department of Labor · Verify with OSHA establishment search →
Source: Wage & Hour Division Compliance Actions, U.S. Department of Labor · DOL WHD data →