Workplace Enforcement by State
According to enforcement records published by the U.S. Department of Labor, PlainWorker tracks 391,598 OSHA inspections and 885,759 violations across 234,020 employers in all 56 U.S. states and territories, alongside 99,959 Wage & Hour Division cases as of May 2026. Select a state below to see its top violators, statewide penalty totals, and national rank, or read our methodology for how the figures are sourced and computed.
Coverage status: all 56 U.S. states and territories are listed, sourced from the federal OSHA enforcement and DOL Wage & Hour record only. The extract includes the inspections of states that run their own OSHA-approved plans. Every figure counts only employers with at least two OSHA inspections or $1,000 or more in Wage & Hour back wages, and the share of a state’s recorded activity that passes that filter differs by state (see the Counted column).
Volume vs dollars
New York leads federal OSHA violation counts (79,647), while California leads assessed penalty dollars ($121.6M). Rankings below sort the same extract both ways, complementary axes, not a safety score.
Most OSHA violations
| # | State | Violations | Counted † | All-records rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 79,647 | 54% | #4 |
| 2 | Michigan | 67,640 | 37% | #3 |
| 3 | California | 62,917 | 23% | #1 |
| 4 | New Jersey | 51,588 | 50% | #9 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 38,865 | 39% | #11 |
| 6 | Illinois | 38,576 | 33% | #7 |
| 7 | Texas | 37,481 | 30% | #5 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | 34,307 | 41% | #14 |
| 9 | Ohio | 33,085 | 37% | #12 |
| 10 | Virginia | 29,121 | 34% | #13 |
| 11 | Washington | 28,812 | 15% | #2 |
| 12 | Maryland | 24,360 | 24% | #10 |
Highest OSHA penalties
| # | State | Penalties | Counted † | All-records rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $121.6M | 30% | #1 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $116.4M | 46% | #3 |
| 3 | Texas | $112.7M | 36% | #2 |
| 4 | Ohio | $106.2M | 44% | #4 |
| 5 | Illinois | $97.2M | 42% | #5 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $72.9M | 43% | #8 |
| 7 | New York | $67.8M | 36% | #6 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | $63.0M | 50% | #11 |
| 9 | Florida | $58.6M | 33% | #7 |
| 10 | Georgia | $57.2M | 42% | #10 |
| 11 | Virginia | $48.1M | 47% | #13 |
| 12 | Michigan | $45.4M | 56% | #17 |
† Counted is the share of a state’s recorded violations (or penalty dollars) that belong to the employers this database keeps: those with at least two OSHA inspections or $1,000 or more in Wage & Hour back wages. It runs from 13% (Indiana) to 66% (Northern Mariana Islands) on violations and from 8% (Washington) to 85% (American Samoa) on penalties, so the order in these tables is not the order of all recorded activity. Ranked on every recorded violation, North Carolina would be #6 (#19 here), Washington would be #2 (#11 here) and Oregon would be #8 (#16 here). On every recorded penalty dollar, Washington would be #9 (#26 here). Measured on the federal extract fetched 2026-07-03.
All states directory
| State | Employers | Inspections | Violations | Counted † | Penalties | Back Wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 19,429 | 36,301 | 62,917 | 23% | $121.6M | $285.8M |
| New Jersey | 9,221 | 17,373 | 51,588 | 50% | $116.4M | $108.1M |
| Texas | 19,468 | 18,606 | 37,481 | 30% | $112.7M | $352.5M |
| Ohio | 6,993 | 12,879 | 33,085 | 37% | $106.2M | $68.2M |
| Illinois | 9,364 | 18,232 | 38,576 | 33% | $97.2M | $82.5M |
| Pennsylvania | 9,159 | 16,082 | 34,307 | 41% | $72.9M | $143.4M |
| New York | 18,169 | 35,034 | 79,647 | 54% | $67.8M | $201.6M |
| Wisconsin | 4,100 | 9,627 | 23,614 | 41% | $63.0M | $29.8M |
| Florida | 11,661 | 11,187 | 20,137 | 29% | $58.6M | $199.8M |
| Georgia | 6,232 | 8,956 | 23,607 | 38% | $57.2M | $78.6M |
| Virginia | 8,028 | 14,670 | 29,121 | 34% | $48.1M | $150.6M |
| Michigan | 11,840 | 24,804 | 67,640 | 37% | $45.4M | $56.5M |
| Alabama | 3,643 | 6,039 | 14,683 | 39% | $43.4M | $32.8M |
| Nevada | 4,326 | 11,465 | 18,844 | 55% | $33.5M | $27.5M |
| Missouri | 4,048 | 5,584 | 12,358 | 30% | $30.7M | $37.6M |
| Massachusetts | 4,105 | 5,934 | 12,091 | 25% | $29.0M | $60.3M |
| Connecticut | 2,349 | 5,627 | 23,647 | 44% | $28.1M | $21.8M |
| Kansas | 3,329 | 5,361 | 9,514 | 46% | $27.1M | $25.4M |
| Tennessee | 6,061 | 11,286 | 38,865 | 39% | $24.6M | $57.0M |
| Colorado | 3,986 | 6,496 | 11,833 | 32% | $22.8M | $28.2M |
| Iowa | 2,595 | 4,770 | 10,267 | 36% | $19.4M | $21.8M |
| Nebraska | 1,468 | 2,189 | 4,514 | 32% | $16.2M | $14.7M |
| Oklahoma | 2,723 | 2,821 | 5,020 | 32% | $13.1M | $37.2M |
| Maryland | 3,268 | 5,438 | 24,360 | 24% | $13.1M | $99.3M |
| Hawaii | 2,205 | 3,949 | 9,120 | 38% | $12.7M | $21.3M |
| Washington | 5,430 | 11,410 | 28,812 | 15% | $12.2M | $40.2M |
| Alaska | 1,275 | 3,999 | 11,441 | 53% | $12.0M | $5.6M |
| Mississippi | 2,212 | 2,311 | 4,912 | 35% | $11.2M | $28.9M |
| North Carolina | 6,078 | 7,124 | 18,017 | 15% | $10.7M | $73.2M |
| Arkansas | 1,788 | 1,364 | 3,343 | 34% | $10.5M | $20.2M |
| Maine | 1,295 | 2,569 | 8,054 | 45% | $10.0M | $5.8M |
| Puerto Rico | 3,269 | 6,881 | 11,369 | 29% | $9.7M | $80.5M |
| Delaware | 464 | 721 | 1,884 | 26% | $9.4M | $6.1M |
| Louisiana | 2,408 | 2,368 | 3,408 | 28% | $8.6M | $49.2M |
| North Dakota | 631 | 1,298 | 1,761 | 32% | $8.4M | $4.2M |
| New Hampshire | 1,214 | 1,490 | 3,281 | 27% | $7.7M | $15.2M |
| Idaho | 1,348 | 2,073 | 3,829 | 30% | $7.1M | $12.0M |
| West Virginia | 1,258 | 1,679 | 3,289 | 28% | $7.0M | $17.5M |
| Utah | 2,434 | 3,841 | 6,414 | 28% | $6.7M | $24.4M |
| Rhode Island | 1,024 | 1,640 | 3,528 | 31% | $6.4M | $11.5M |
| Indiana | 2,174 | 2,598 | 4,225 | 13% | $6.0M | $30.0M |
| South Dakota | 675 | 901 | 1,901 | 31% | $5.9M | $4.8M |
| Oregon | 5,103 | 11,981 | 21,930 | 20% | $5.8M | $14.7M |
| Kentucky | 1,613 | 1,881 | 3,171 | 14% | $5.7M | $24.8M |
| Montana | 843 | 1,786 | 2,718 | 36% | $5.6M | $2.6M |
| Minnesota | 2,844 | 4,594 | 9,173 | 15% | $5.5M | $30.5M |
| New Mexico | 1,425 | 1,685 | 2,690 | 32% | $5.3M | $24.7M |
| Wyoming | 529 | 969 | 2,936 | 29% | $4.6M | $2.8M |
| Guam | 783 | 1,642 | 3,356 | 59% | $4.6M | $10.9M |
| Vermont | 824 | 1,444 | 3,044 | 34% | $4.6M | $5.0M |
| Arizona | 3,133 | 4,227 | 8,689 | 27% | $4.5M | $68.9M |
| District of Columbia | 667 | 1,517 | 2,002 | 22% | $3.2M | $11.0M |
| South Carolina | 2,549 | 2,833 | 5,382 | 25% | $3.0M | $35.0M |
| American Samoa | 189 | 434 | 829 | 64% | $2.9M | $2.0M |
| Virgin Islands | 436 | 1,222 | 2,592 | 56% | $1.9M | $873K |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 332 | 397 | 943 | 66% | $1.3M | $18.6M |
State enforcement FAQ
- Which state has the most OSHA violations in this extract?
- New York leads with 79,647 federal OSHA violations across 35,034 inspections (18,169 employers). Counts cover employers with at least two OSHA inspections or $1,000 or more in Wage & Hour back wages, so each state's figure is a share of what the federal extract records (54% of the violations recorded for New York).
- Which state has the highest OSHA penalty dollars?
- California leads this extract at $121.6M in assessed federal OSHA penalties. Penalty dollars and violation counts are complementary axes, a high-count state is not always the highest-dollar state.
- Which state shows the most Wage & Hour back wages?
- Texas leads Wage & Hour back-wage findings in this extract at $352.5M. WHD back wages are a different enforcement channel from OSHA penalties, both appear in the directory table below.
- Where does PlainWorker source state enforcement totals?
- Totals compile U.S. Department of Labor OSHA inspection/violation releases and Wage & Hour Division case findings covering 391,598 inspections and 99,959 WHD cases as of May 2026. See methodology, PlainWorker does not publish compliance advice.
Download the OSHA/WHD enforcement extract cited on this page: osha-whd-enforcement-statistics.csv (DOL public records · CC BY 4.0).