1926.16 Rules of construction

29 CFR 1926.16 · Read the standard on eCFR · Citations issued March 8, 1973 to December 16, 2025 · Data through October 28, 2026

Title checked against CFR editions from 1997 on.

Citations

223

citation items issued

Inspections

222

each counted once

Initial penalties

$269,607

as first assessed

Current penalties

$232,711

86.3% of initial

Penalties and violation types

$1,000median current penalty per citation

$1,125median initial penalty per citation

18.5%of citations with an initial penalty were later reduced

5.8%of citations were contested

OSHA violation type	Citations	Share	Median current	Contested	Initial total	Current total
Serious (S)	202	90.6%	$1,050	4.5%	$252,817	$223,621
Other (O)	17	7.6%	$0	23.5%	$8,340	$640
Repeat (R)	4	1.8%	$2,063	0.0%	$8,450	$8,450

CitationsPenaltiesContested

Same order as the full table. Bars compare the rows shown. Tap a type for all figures.

Serious (S)20290.6% share$223,621current total4.5%contested

Citations: 202
Share: 90.6%
Current total: $223,621
Initial total: $252,817
Median current: $1,050
Contested: 4.5%

Other (O)177.6% share$640current total23.5%contested

Citations: 17
Share: 7.6%
Current total: $640
Initial total: $8,340
Median current: $0
Contested: 23.5%

Repeat (R)41.8% share$8,450current total0.0%contested

Citations: 4
Share: 1.8%
Current total: $8,450
Initial total: $8,450
Median current: $2,063
Contested: 0.0%

Citations by year issued

Counts use the recorded citation issue year. "Of all citations" is the share of every citation issued that year.

Issued	Citations	Of all citations	Inspections	Median current	Current total
2025	1	0.00%	1	$0	$0
2023	2	0.00%	2	$3,005	$6,009
2015	1	0.00%	1	$1,400	$1,400
2014	1	0.00%	1	$0	$0
2008	1	0.00%	1	$100	$100
2003	1	0.00%	1	$100	$100
2002	69	0.03%	69	$1,170	$82,460
2001	60	0.02%	60	$1,050	$62,660
2000	45	0.02%	45	$1,200	$53,820
1999	9	0.00%	9	$1,225	$9,500

CitationsInspectionsPenalties

Newest first, as in the full table. Bars compare the rows shown. Tap a year for all figures.

202510.00% of all citations1inspections$0current total

Citations: 1
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 1
Current total: $0
Median current: $0

All records issued in 2025

202320.00% of all citations2inspections$6,009current total

Citations: 2
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 2
Current total: $6,009
Median current: $3,005

All records issued in 2023

201510.00% of all citations1inspections$1,400current total

Citations: 1
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 1
Current total: $1,400
Median current: $1,400

All records issued in 2015

201410.00% of all citations1inspections$0current total

Citations: 1
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 1
Current total: $0
Median current: $0

All records issued in 2014

200810.00% of all citations1inspections$100current total

Citations: 1
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 1
Current total: $100
Median current: $100

All records issued in 2008

200310.00% of all citations1inspections$100current total

Citations: 1
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 1
Current total: $100
Median current: $100

All records issued in 2003

2002690.03% of all citations69inspections$82,460current total

Citations: 69
Of all citations: 0.03%
Inspections: 69
Current total: $82,460
Median current: $1,170

All records issued in 2002

2001600.02% of all citations60inspections$62,660current total

Citations: 60
Of all citations: 0.02%
Inspections: 60
Current total: $62,660
Median current: $1,050

All records issued in 2001

2000450.02% of all citations45inspections$53,820current total

Citations: 45
Of all citations: 0.02%
Inspections: 45
Current total: $53,820
Median current: $1,200

All records issued in 2000

199990.00% of all citations9inspections$9,500current total

Citations: 9
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 9
Current total: $9,500
Median current: $1,225

All records issued in 1999

Show earlier years

Issued	Citations	Of all citations	Inspections	Median current	Current total
1998	7	0.00%	7	$500	$3,572
1992	4	0.00%	3	$1,013	$3,900
1990	4	0.00%	4	$640	$2,340
1989	9	0.00%	9	$300	$3,630
1988	4	0.00%	4	$565	$2,180
1987	3	0.00%	3	$0	$1,000
1973	2	0.00%	2	$20	$40

CitationsInspectionsPenalties

Newest first, as in the full table. Bars compare the rows shown. Tap a year for all figures.

199870.00% of all citations7inspections$3,572current total

Citations: 7
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 7
Current total: $3,572
Median current: $500

All records issued in 1998

199240.00% of all citations3inspections$3,900current total

Citations: 4
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 3
Current total: $3,900
Median current: $1,013

All records issued in 1992

199040.00% of all citations4inspections$2,340current total

Citations: 4
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 4
Current total: $2,340
Median current: $640

All records issued in 1990

198990.00% of all citations9inspections$3,630current total

Citations: 9
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 9
Current total: $3,630
Median current: $300

All records issued in 1989

198840.00% of all citations4inspections$2,180current total

Citations: 4
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 4
Current total: $2,180
Median current: $565

All records issued in 1988

198730.00% of all citations3inspections$1,000current total

Citations: 3
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 3
Current total: $1,000
Median current: $0

All records issued in 1987

197320.00% of all citations2inspections$40current total

Citations: 2
Of all citations: 0.00%
Inspections: 2
Current total: $40
Median current: $20

All records issued in 1973

How the inspections started

DOL inspection type of each inspection citing 1926.16, each inspection counted once.

Planned (H)17980.6%

Complaint (B)146.3%

Accident (A)104.5%

Unprogrammed Related (G)104.5%

Referral (C)41.8%

Programmed Related (I)31.4%

Follow-Up (F)20.9%

Cited alongside 1926.16

Standards cited in the same inspections, as a share of the 222 inspections citing 1926.16.

1926.501 Fall Protection - Duty to Have Fall Protection3013.5%

1926.405 Electrical - Wiring Methods (Construction)177.7%

1926.25 Housekeeping146.3%

1926.403 Electrical - General Requirements (Construction)146.3%

1926.100115.0%

1926.404 Electrical - Wiring Design and Protection (Construction)115.0%

1926.150 Fire Protection (Construction)83.6%

1926.451 Scaffolding - General Requirements83.6%

1926.1053 Ladders (Construction)83.6%

1926.1052 Stairways (Construction)73.2%

Employers inspected

Employees at the establishment

1-1015971.6%

11-493616.2%

50-249188.1%

250-99973.2%

1000+20.9%

Inspections, each counted once. Shares are of inspections with a usable employee count.

Owner

Private (A)21898.2%

Not recorded20.9%

Local government (B)10.5%

State government (C)10.5%

DOL owner type of each inspection, each counted once.

By industry

4.0% of these citations (9 of 223) come from inspections with an industry code. Coverage varies by decade of issue (see the table), so this view mostly reflects the decades with coded records. NAICS as recorded by DOL on the inspection record.

Industry (NAICS as recorded by DOL, 3 digits)	Citations	Of coded citations
236 Construction of Buildings	8	88.9%
238 Specialty Trade Contractors	1	11.1%

236Construction of Buildings888.9% of coded citations

238Specialty Trade Contractors111.1% of coded citations

Issued in	Citations	With NAICS	Coverage
1970s	2	0	0.0%
1980s	16	0	0.0%
1990s	24	0	0.0%
2000s	176	4	2.3%
2010s	2	2	100.0%
2020s	3	3	100.0%

Bar: NAICS coverage, on a 0 to 100% scale.

1970s20 with NAICS (0.0%)

1980s160 with NAICS (0.0%)

1990s240 with NAICS (0.0%)

2000s1764 with NAICS (2.3%)

2010s22 with NAICS (100.0%)

2020s33 with NAICS (100.0%)

Most cited paragraphs

OSHA citation code, as recorded	Citations	Current penalties
19260016 A	189	$209,183
19260016 C	24	$14,019
19260016 B	4	$2,000
19260016 D	3	$7,509
19260016 C01	2	$0
19260016	1	$0

19260016 A189$209,183 current penalties

19260016 C24$14,019 current penalties

19260016 B4$2,000 current penalties

19260016 D3$7,509 current penalties

19260016 C012$0 current penalties

192600161$0 current penalties

Codes are shown exactly as OSHA records them. Counts reflect citation records, not the frequency of incidents or hazards.

About this data

Citations are citation items in DOL's OSHA enforcement data, federal and State Plan, deleted items excluded. Inspections are counted once each.
Initial penalties are the amounts first assessed (DOL "Initial Penalty"); current penalties include later changes such as settlements (DOL "Current Penalty"). Amounts are as recorded, not adjusted for inflation.
Median penalty per citation: the middle value of the amounts recorded on these citations, counting $0 amounts and leaving out citations with no amount recorded, shown in whole dollars. A median is computed for one group only and is never combined with another.
Later reduced: the share of citations with an initial penalty above $0 whose current penalty is lower than the initial penalty.
Contested: the share of citations with a DOL "Contested Date" recorded.
Violation, inspection and owner types use DOL's own labels. A value outside DOL's list is shown as recorded, marked "not in DOL's list". Paragraph codes are shown exactly as OSHA records them.
Industry is the NAICS code on the inspection record, as recorded by DOL. Employee counts are DOL "Number of Employees" on the inspection; counts of 99,999 or more are not published as a headcount, a rule of this site.
Having OSHA inspection records is common for businesses in regulated industries.

Regulatory Reference

29 CFR 1926.16: Rules of construction

Read the full regulatory text on eCFR.gov

Official Resources

Full Standard Text

29 CFR 1926.16 on OSHA.gov

osha.gov

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations

Part 1926 full regulatory text

ecfr.gov

Data Source and Methodology

DOL source data

Data on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement database, accessed via the DOL public data API. Records are refreshed from published DOL data. We strive for accuracy, but errors in data processing or establishment grouping are possible. Penalty amounts reflect the latest penalty amounts on record in the DOL database and may differ from initial assessments or final amounts after informal conference, settlement, or judicial review. Company pages group inspection records by normalized employer name, city, and state as reported in OSHA records. That grouping is deterministic and non-fuzzy, but it is not a universal legal-entity identifier. If you believe any record is inaccurate, please report it and we will investigate. This product uses the DOL Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the DOL. For official and authoritative records, visit osha.gov.