If an employer wishes to contest any portion of a citation, it must submit to OSHA a Notice of Intent to Contest in writing within 15 working days after receipt of the Citation and Notification of Penalty. This applies even if the employer has stated disagreement with a citation, penalty, or abatement date during a telephone conversation or an informal conference. The Notice of Intent to Contest must clearly state what is being contested — the citation, the penalty, the abatement date, or any combination of these factors. In addition, the notice must state whether all the violations on the citation, or just specific violations, are being contested. (For example, “I wish to contest the citation and penalty proposed for items 3 and 4 of the citation issued June 27, 2018.”)

A proper contest of any item suspends the employer’s legal obligation to abate and pay until the item contested has been resolved. The employer has to submit its case to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Before going to court the Area Director may try to settle the case. The Commission assigns the case to an administrative law judge who usually will schedule a hearing in a public place close to the employer’s workplace. Both employers and employees have the right to participate in this hearing, which contains all the elements of a trial, including examination and cross-examination of witnesses.

Employers may choose to represent themselves or have legal representation. The administrative law judge may affirm, modify, or eliminate any contested items of the citation or penalty. As with any other legal procedure, there is an appeals process. Once the administrative law judge has ruled, any party to the case may request a further review by the full Review Commission. In addition, any of the three commissioners may, on his or her own motion, bring the case before the entire Commission for review. The Commission’s ruling, in turn, may be appealed to the circuit in which the case arose or for the circuit where the employer has his or her principal office.