# How Cal/OSHA Penalties Are Calculated

A Cal/OSHA penalty is not a judgment call — it is a formula, published in 8 CCR §336. A base amount set by classification, three discounts, an abatement credit, and multipliers for repeat and willful violations. A small employer with good faith and a clean history can see a serious penalty fall by 80% before it is even mailed.

Source: https://compliantca.com/guides/how-cal-osha-penalties-are-calculated/
Published: 2026-08-23
Updated: 2026-08-23
Publisher: CompliantCA — not a law firm; this is not legal advice.

Cal/OSHA penalty amounts look arbitrary from the outside — $225 here, $18,000 there, $112,500 somewhere else. They are not. [8 CCR §336](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/336.html), Assessment of Civil Penalties, publishes the formula, and this page walks through it. Every dollar figure below is as published in the section text in August 2026; §336's amounts are adjusted over time, so the section itself is always the current source.

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## Step 1: the classification sets the base {#the-base}

| Classification | Base penalty | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory (paperwork: permits, postings, reports) | $500 minimum | $16,285 |
| General (safety violation, unlikely to cause serious harm) | $1,000 / $1,500 / $2,000 by severity | $16,285 |
| Serious | $18,000 initial base | $25,000 |

For general and serious violations, the base is then adjusted for the violation's extent (25% subtracted if low, 25% added if high) and, for general violations, its likelihood. The result is called the gravity-based penalty.

## Step 2: three discounts — size, good faith, history {#the-discounts}

§336(d) subtracts percentages of the gravity-based penalty:

| Factor | Discount |
|---|---|
| Size: 10 or fewer employees | −40% |
| Size: 11–25 | −30% |
| Size: 26–60 | −20% |
| Size: 61–100 | −10% |
| Size: more than 100 | none |
| Good faith: good / fair | −30% / −15% |
| History: good / fair | −10% / −5% |

The discounts stack. A 10-person employer with good faith and a good history subtracts 40 + 30 + 10 = 80%.

## Step 3: the abatement credit {#abatement-credit}

§336(e) cuts the adjusted penalty for general violations by a further 50%, on the presumption the employer will fix the condition by the abatement date. Serious violations get the same 50% only under conditions — chiefly, fixing the violation during the inspection itself or meeting the section's other requirements. Repeat and willful violations get no abatement credit.

## The multipliers: repeat and willful {#the-multipliers}

- **Repeat** (§336(g)): the penalty is multiplied — 2x for a first repeat, 4x for a second, 10x for a third — capped at $162,851. This is why a repeat citation within the lookback window costs far more than the original.
- **Willful** (§336(h)): the penalty is multiplied by five, with a floor of $11,632 and the same $162,851 cap. A willful violation that caused death or serious injury loses every reduction except size.

## A worked example {#worked-example}

A serious violation at a 10-person shop with good faith and a clean history: $18,000 base − 80% in §336(d) discounts = $3,600; with the abatement credit, $1,800. The same violation at a 300-person employer with a poor history: $18,000, no discounts. The formula is why [our employer-size analysis](/guides/cal-osha-citations-by-employer-size/) found median penalties of $300 at the smallest establishments and $800 at the largest — the size gradient is written into the regulation.

One narrow grace period sits in the same subsection: §336(d)(10) bars any civil penalty against a **new employer, for one year** after establishing a business in the state, for regulatory or general violations of the IIPP standard — subject to the paragraph's conditions. IIPP paperwork only; serious violations are never covered.

## The formula is not the final number {#not-final}

Everything above sets the penalty **as issued**. What employers ultimately pay is often less: appeals and settlements removed about a third of proposed penalty dollars from the settled 2020–2021 citation cohorts. That reduction has its own patterns — which classifications move, which do not, and one surprise about employer size — covered in [how much Cal/OSHA penalties are reduced after citation](/guides/cal-osha-penalty-reductions/). The appeal window is 15 working days from receipt — see [what happens after an inspection opens](/guides/after-a-cal-osha-inspection-opens/).

## Sources {#sources}

Everything on this page is from [8 CCR §336](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/336.html), read August 2026, with classifications defined in §334 and gravity factors in §335. Dollar amounts are as published in the section text at that date. This page describes the published formula; it does not predict any specific penalty — review any citation with your safety officer or attorney.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the maximum Cal/OSHA penalty?

Per 8 CCR §336 as published in August 2026: up to $16,285 for regulatory and general violations, up to $25,000 for a serious violation, and up to $162,851 for repeat and willful violations. Willful violations also carry a floor: not less than $11,632. The amounts in §336 are adjusted over time, so check the section text for current figures.

### Do small employers pay smaller Cal/OSHA penalties?

Yes, by regulation. §336(d)(1) subtracts 40% of the gravity-based penalty for employers with 10 or fewer employees, 30% for 11–25, 20% for 26–60, and 10% for 61–100. Good faith can subtract another 30% and a clean history another 10% — so a 10-person shop with both can see 80% subtracted before an abatement credit.

### Do new businesses get any grace period on Cal/OSHA penalties?

A narrow one. §336(d)(10) states that no civil penalty shall be assessed against a new employer for one year after establishing a business in the state, for regulatory or general violations of the Injury and Illness Prevention Program standard, subject to the conditions the paragraph lists. It covers IIPP paperwork violations only — not serious violations, and not other standards.