How OSHA Builds a Case Against You: An Inspection Timeline

OSHA doesn't just show up and write fines. They build a case. From the moment an inspection is triggered to the day a citation lands in your mailbox, every step of the process is designed to gather evidence, assess severity, and calculate a penalty amount that reflects what they found — and what you could not disprove. Understanding their process is your first line of defense.

Most contractors experience the OSHA enforcement process as something that happens to them. The inspector arrives, walks the site, asks for documents, and leaves. Weeks or months later, a citation arrives with a penalty that feels arbitrary. But it isn't arbitrary. Every citation is the product of a structured, multi-phase investigation where evidence is collected, weighed, and applied against specific regulatory standards.

When you understand how OSHA builds its case, you can prepare your defense at each stage — not reactively, but proactively. Here is the complete timeline, from trigger to penalty.

Phase 1: The Trigger — What Causes OSHA to Inspect

Every OSHA inspection begins with a trigger. Inspections are not random. They are initiated based on specific events, data, or complaints that direct OSHA's limited resources toward workplaces where hazards are most likely to exist.

The most common triggers, in OSHA's order of priority:

1. Imminent danger — Situations where workers face immediate risk of death or serious physical harm. These receive the fastest response and often involve same-day or next-day inspections.
2. Fatalities and catastrophes — Employers are required to report any workplace fatality within 8 hours and any amputation, loss of an eye, or hospitalization within 24 hours. Failure to report is itself a citable offense. These reports trigger mandatory investigations.
3. Employee complaints — Any current or former employee can file a complaint alleging specific hazards. Written, signed complaints trigger on-site inspections. Even anonymous or unsigned complaints may result in a phone/fax investigation that can escalate to an on-site visit.
4. Referrals — Tips from other government agencies, media reports, or observations made during other inspections. If an OSHA inspector driving past your jobsite observes workers on an unguarded roof edge, that observation can initiate a referral inspection.
5. Programmed inspections — OSHA targets high-hazard industries through national and local emphasis programs. Construction is consistently among the most-targeted industries. Sites are selected based on injury data, industry classification, and geographic focus areas.

The trigger matters because it determines the initial scope of the inspection. A complaint about fall protection focuses the inspector on fall-related standards. A programmed inspection may cover a broader range of conditions. But in every case, the scope can expand if the inspector observes additional hazards during the visit.

From a defense perspective, the trigger is the first data point in the case file. If the trigger was a complaint, OSHA already has a written allegation before the inspector sets foot on your site. Your documentation needs to be ready to address those allegations with evidence — not explanations.

Phase 2: The Opening Conference — Credentials, Scope, and What They Don't Tell You

The inspection itself begins with the opening conference. A compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) arrives at your jobsite — almost always unannounced — and presents official credentials: a U.S. Department of Labor identification card with a photograph and serial number. You have the right to verify these credentials, and you should.

During the opening conference, the inspector will explain:

• The reason for the inspection (the trigger)
• The general scope of what they plan to review
• What documents they will need
• Your right to have an employer representative accompany them

What the opening conference does not reveal is equally important. The inspector will not tell you what specific violations they expect to find. They will not share the details of a complaint beyond its general nature. They will not disclose how their findings will be weighted or what penalty factors they are considering. The opening conference is informational for you but observational for them. From the moment they walk onto your site, everything they see, hear, and document becomes part of the case file.

This is why your response during the opening conference matters. Designate a knowledgeable employer representative immediately — ideally someone who has been trained on inspection protocols. Notify company leadership and legal counsel that an inspection is underway. Begin assembling the documentation the inspector will request. The opening conference is not a formality. It is the start of evidence collection.

Phase 3: The Walkaround — Observation, Photography, and Evidence Gathering

The walkaround is the physical inspection of your jobsite, and it is the most evidence-dense phase of the process. The CSHO walks through active work areas with a trained eye, systematically building a visual and written record of conditions.

During the walkaround, the inspector is doing three things simultaneously:

1. Observing conditions — Guardrail heights, trench shoring, scaffold planking, PPE usage, housekeeping, signage, electrical setups, and dozens of other conditions are evaluated against specific OSHA standards. The inspector knows the measurements that matter: 42 inches for guardrails, 6 feet for fall protection trigger heights, 20 feet for excavation sloping requirements. They are not guessing — they are measuring.
2. Photographing everything — CSHOs routinely photograph conditions, equipment labels, posted documents, and work practices. These photographs become primary evidence in the case file. Each photo is timestamped and captioned with the specific standard it relates to. You have the right to take your own photographs of everything the inspector photographs — and you should exercise this right without exception.
3. Noting context — The inspector is not just looking for hazards. They are noting the context that determines violation severity. How many workers are exposed? How long has the condition existed? Was the hazard foreseeable? Could it cause death or serious injury? These contextual observations determine whether a violation is classified as serious, willful, or other-than-serious — and each classification carries a dramatically different penalty range.

The walkaround can also expand beyond the original scope. If the inspector arrived to investigate a fall protection complaint but observes an unshored trench or missing lockout/tagout procedures, those observations become part of the case. A focused inspection can become a comprehensive one in minutes.

Phase 4: Document Requests — What They Ask For and What Missing Records Mean

During or immediately after the walkaround, the inspector will request documentation. This is not a casual ask. The documents you produce — and the ones you cannot — become central evidence in the case file.

Common document requests include:

• OSHA 300/300A/301 logs — Injury and illness records for the current year and the prior five years
• Written safety programs — Fall protection plans, hazard communication programs, excavation safety plans, scaffold erection procedures, and other hazard-specific written programs required by OSHA standards
• Training records — Documentation showing dates, topics, trainer qualifications, attendee names, and signatures for all required safety training
• Equipment inspection records — Pre-shift and periodic inspection logs for scaffolds, excavations, cranes, aerial lifts, fire extinguishers, and other regulated equipment
• Competent person designations — Written documentation identifying the competent person for each applicable standard (excavation, scaffolding, fall protection, etc.)
• Incident and near-miss reports — Records of past incidents with documented root cause analysis and corrective actions taken
• Daily site logs — Records of daily activities, conditions, hazard observations, and corrective actions

Here is the critical point that most contractors underestimate: missing documentation is not neutral — it is negative evidence. When you cannot produce a training record, OSHA presumes the training did not occur. When you cannot produce inspection logs, OSHA presumes the inspections were not performed. When you cannot produce a written safety program, OSHA cites you for not having one — regardless of whether the program existed in practice.

The speed of your document production also matters. Inspectors form professional impressions about the quality of your safety management based on how quickly you can retrieve records. Organized, immediately accessible files signal a disciplined program. Delays, disorganized binders, and requests for more time signal the opposite — and those impressions influence how aggressively the inspector pursues violations.

Phase 5: Employee Interviews — How Inconsistencies Become Evidence

Employee interviews are one of the most powerful evidence-gathering tools in the inspector's process. The CSHO has the right to speak with any employee privately, and you cannot be present during these conversations.

Inspectors typically ask employees about:

• Their understanding of site-specific hazards
• What safety training they have received and when
• Whether they know who the competent person is for their work area
• How they were instructed to perform specific tasks
• Whether they have reported hazards and what happened when they did
• Their familiarity with written safety programs and emergency procedures

The inspector is not just gathering information — they are testing your documentation against reality. If your training records show that employees received fall protection training last month, but the employees cannot describe basic fall protection procedures, that inconsistency undermines your records. If your written safety program describes a hazard reporting process, but employees say they have never seen the program, that gap becomes evidence of a paper-only compliance effort.

Inconsistencies between employee statements and employer documentation are among the strongest pieces of evidence in an OSHA case file. They suggest that the documentation was created for compliance purposes rather than reflecting actual practice — which can escalate a violation from serious to willful.

The defense against this is straightforward but requires ongoing effort: your documentation must reflect what actually happens. Training records should correspond to training that employees actually experienced. Safety programs should describe procedures that employees actually follow. When documentation and practice align, employee interviews strengthen your position rather than undermining it.

Phase 6: The Closing Conference — What They Share and What They Don't

After completing the walkaround, document review, and employee interviews, the inspector holds a closing conference. This meeting provides a summary of findings and an overview of next steps — but it is not a complete disclosure.

During the closing conference, the inspector will typically:

• Summarize the conditions observed and the potential violations identified
• Discuss the applicable OSHA standards
• Explain the abatement process and expected timelines
• Describe your rights, including the right to contest citations and request an informal conference

What the inspector will not share during the closing conference is significant. They will not tell you the exact citations they plan to issue. They will not disclose proposed penalty amounts. They will not reveal what employees said during interviews. They will not provide a final determination on violation classifications (serious vs. willful vs. other-than-serious). All of those decisions are made later, after the evidence is reviewed by the area office.

The closing conference is your last opportunity to provide additional documentation or context before the case file is assembled. If there are records you were unable to locate during the inspection, offer to submit them promptly. If conditions observed during the walkaround have already been corrected, document the corrections with timestamped photographs and provide them to the inspector. Everything you provide at this stage becomes part of the record.

Phase 7: Post-Inspection — The 6-Month Window, Evidence Review, and Penalty Calculation

After the inspector leaves your site, the case-building process continues — and this is the phase most contractors know nothing about. OSHA has up to six months from the date of the inspection to issue citations. During this window, the case file moves through several stages of review.

The post-inspection process includes:

1. Case file assembly — The CSHO compiles all photographs, notes, measurements, employee statements, document copies, and observations into a formal case file. This file is the evidentiary basis for any citations.
2. Violation determination — The CSHO and area office staff review the evidence against specific OSHA standards. Each potential violation is evaluated for classification: serious, other-than-serious, willful, or repeat. The classification is based on severity of potential harm, employer knowledge, and history.
3. Penalty calculation — For each violation, OSHA calculates a base penalty using the gravity-based system. Gravity combines the severity of potential injury with the probability of occurrence. Adjustment factors for employer size, good faith, and inspection history are then applied — but only when the evidence supports them.
4. Area director review — The area director reviews the complete case file and proposed citations before they are issued. This is a quality control step where marginal cases may be strengthened, modified, or dropped.
5. Citation issuance — Citations are sent by certified mail. Each citation describes the specific violation, the applicable standard, the proposed penalty amount, and the required abatement date.

The six-month window means you may not learn the outcome of an inspection for weeks or months. During this period, you have limited visibility into how the case is developing. The evidence collected during the inspection — your documents, your employees' statements, the inspector's photographs — is being assembled into the case that will determine your financial exposure.

Once you receive a citation, you have 15 working days to respond. You can accept the citation and pay the penalty, request an informal conference to negotiate, or file a formal Notice of Contest to challenge the citation before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Missing the 15-day deadline generally waives your right to contest.

How to Prepare Your Defense at Every Phase

The OSHA enforcement process is structured and predictable. That predictability is your advantage — if you use it. Defensible documentation at each phase changes the outcome of the entire process.

Before the Trigger

The strongest defense is built before any inspection is initiated. Maintain current, organized records that can be produced within minutes, not hours. Ensure your required documentation is complete: written safety programs, training records with signatures, equipment inspection logs, competent person designations, and incident reports. Conduct regular internal audits using an inspection checklist that mirrors what OSHA inspectors evaluate.

During the Opening Conference

Have a designated, trained representative ready to manage the inspection. This person should know the inspection process, understand your rights, and have immediate access to all documentation. Take detailed notes on everything the inspector communicates — the stated reason, the scope, and any specific areas of concern.

During the Walkaround

Your representative should accompany the inspector at all times. Take parallel photographs of every condition the inspector photographs. Note which areas the inspector focuses on and which standards they reference. If you identify a correctable hazard during the walkaround, correct it immediately and document the correction — it does not prevent a citation, but it demonstrates good faith and can reduce the penalty.

During Document Requests

Produce records quickly and completely. Organized, accessible documentation signals a disciplined safety program. If a record cannot be located immediately, commit to a specific delivery timeline and follow through. Never fabricate or backdate records — this transforms a documentation gap into potential criminal liability.

During Employee Interviews

You cannot control what employees say, but you can ensure your documentation reflects reality. When training records match what employees describe, when safety programs reflect actual procedures, and when daily logs document genuine observations, employee interviews validate rather than contradict your records. The preparation for this phase happens every day through consistent, honest documentation.

During the Closing Conference

Provide any additional documentation or context that supports your compliance efforts. Submit evidence of corrections made during the inspection. Ask clarifying questions about potential violations and the abatement process. Document the inspector's closing statements for your records.

During the Post-Inspection Window

Do not wait passively for citations to arrive. Use the post-inspection period to organize all evidence from the inspection, including your representative's notes, parallel photographs, and any follow-up documentation submitted. If you anticipate citations, consult with legal counsel and prepare for either an informal conference or a formal contest. The strength of your defense during this phase depends entirely on the quality of evidence you collected during the inspection.

OSHA's enforcement process is not designed to be unfair — it is designed to be thorough. When you understand each phase and prepare accordingly, you enter the process with evidence that supports your compliance efforts, context that explains conditions the inspector observed, and documentation that earns penalty reductions. The contractors who fare best in OSHA enforcement are not necessarily the ones with the safest jobsites. They are the ones who can prove their jobsites are safe.