# Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Veterinary Practices

Cal/OSHA opened 116 inspections at California veterinary practices from 2010 through 2025 — about seven a year — and issued 219 citations on them. The written programs lead: the IIPP and hazard communication together are a third of all citations. Almost no inspection was planned: 97% began with a complaint or an accident.

Source: https://compliantca.com/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-veterinary/
Published: 2026-09-03
Updated: 2026-09-03
Publisher: CompliantCA — not a law firm; this is not legal advice.

Cal/OSHA publishes a statewide [top-ten list of frequently cited standards](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/statistics/Frequently-cited-standards.html) but no per-industry breakdown, and no one publishes the veterinary cut at all. This page is that cut, computed from the federal enforcement data that Cal/OSHA inspections flow into: **219 citations across 116 inspections at California veterinary practices from January 2010 through December 2025** (NAICS 541940, Veterinary Services). The window is sixteen years rather than our usual six because the sector is small — about seven inspections a year statewide — and a shorter window would rank standards on a handful of cases.

**Free IIPP template.** A fill-in Injury and Illness Prevention Program with plain-language prompts for each element §3203 names — the standard at the top of this table. PDF, no account.
[Request the template →](/request/iipp-template/?from=most-cited-cal-osha-violations-veterinary)
{: .callout }

## The most cited standards, 2010–2025 {#top-ten}

Citations counted per violation line item, grouped to the base section. Average penalty is the penalty as it stands now, after any appeals and settlements, averaged across the row's citations — shown only where a standard has at least 10 citations, because an average over fewer cases describes those cases, not the standard. Penalties as retrieved 2026-08-30.

| # | Standard | What it covers | Citations | Avg penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [§3203](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3203.html) | Injury and Illness Prevention Program | 43 | $1,358 |
| 2 | [§5194](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/5194.html) | Hazard Communication | 30 | $188 |
| 3 | [§342](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/342.html) | Reporting Work-Connected Fatalities and Serious Injuries | 17 | $3,809 |
| 4 | [§5162](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/5162.html) | Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment | 12 | $653 |
| 5 | [§6151](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/6151.html) | Portable Fire Extinguishers | 11 | $135 |
| 6 | [§5199.1](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/5199-1.html) | Aerosol Transmissible Diseases – Zoonotic | 9 | — |
| 7 | [§3395](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3395.html) | Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor Places of Employment | 7 | — |
| 7 | [§4650](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/4650.html) | Storage, Handling, and Use of Cylinders | 7 | — |
| 9 | [§3380](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3380.html) | Personal Protective Devices | 6 | — |
| 10 | [§3273](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3273.html) | Working Area | 5 | — |
| 10 | [§3382](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3382.html) | Eye and Face Protection | 5 | — |
| 10 | [§5193](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/5193.html) | Bloodborne Pathogens | 5 | — |
| | All other standards | 39 distinct sections outside the list above | 72 | |
| | **Total** | **All standards cited** | **219** | **$873** |

Tied standards share a rank: §3395 and §4650 at #7 with 7 citations each, and three standards at #10 with 5 each.

## Reading the table {#reading-the-table}

**The paperwork leads.** [§3203](/guides/8-ccr-3203/), the IIPP, and §5194, hazard communication, are both written-program standards — a document, a training record, a chemical inventory with safety data sheets. Together they are **73 of the 219 citations, 33% of everything cited at California veterinary practices.** A clinic with no other row on this list still has those two.

**§342 carries the largest penalties.** The duty to report a serious injury or death to Cal/OSHA is third at 17 citations, and its $3,809 average stands against a sector-wide $873. It is cited only after something has happened — which fits the trigger pattern below.

**The zoonotic standard is real, and it is cited.** [§5199.1](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/5199-1.html) is the animal-health companion to the aerosol transmissible diseases standard hospitals follow; its scope names "veterinary, animal inspection, and other animal health operations" outright. Nine citations puts it sixth in the sector. Bloodborne pathogens (§5193), written for human blood, appears too — five citations.

**The rest is the physical clinic.** Eyewash where corrosives are handled (§5162), fire extinguishers (§6151), oxygen and anesthetic-gas cylinders (§4650), protective equipment and eye protection (§3380, §3382), and working areas (§3273) — conditions an owner can check in an afternoon with the section text in hand.

## Inspections arrive only when something happens {#triggers}

Of the 116 inspections opened at veterinary practices from 2010 through 2025: **66 began with a complaint (57%) and 47 with an accident (41%) — 113 of 116, or 97%.** Two were planned inspections. One was a referral. Statewide, planned inspections are about a fifth of the total; in this sector they are effectively absent. A veterinary practice that is inspected is almost always inspected because an employee called Cal/OSHA or an employee was hurt.

The counts are small and uneven year to year: 2023 alone produced 25 citations, against 5 in 2022 and 7 in 2024. Read the table as what has been cited in the sector, not as a rate.

## Beyond Cal/OSHA {#other-regimes}

Cal/OSHA is one of several compliance regimes a California veterinary practice sits under. The [Veterinary Medical Board](https://www.vmb.ca.gov/) registers and inspects premises; controlled substances carry federal DEA and state reporting duties; x-ray units register with the California Department of Public Health; medical waste has its own generator rules. This page covers the Cal/OSHA layer only.

## Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations by Industry {#other-industries}

- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Health Care](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-healthcare/)
- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Construction](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-construction/)
- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Manufacturing](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-manufacturing/)
- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Restaurants](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-restaurants/)
- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Landscaping](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-landscaping/)
- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Agriculture](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-agriculture/)
- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Auto Repair](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-auto-repair/)
- [Most Cited Cal/OSHA Violations in Trucking and Warehousing](/guides/most-cited-cal-osha-violations-trucking-warehousing/)

## Methodology {#methodology}

Computed from the [U.S. Department of Labor enforcement dataset](https://dataportal.dol.gov/) (the OSHA Information System), which includes Cal/OSHA because California operates an OSHA-approved State Plan; retrieved 2026-08-30. Scope: citation line items on California inspections whose NAICS code is 541940, Veterinary Services — which includes companion-animal clinics, livestock and equine practices, and mobile veterinarians — with issuance dates January 2010 through December 2025, excluding citation records deleted in the source data. Inspection counts are inspections opened in the same window; 77 of the 116 produced at least one citation. The sixteen-year window is a deliberate departure from our six-year convention, chosen because the sector's volume is small; the 2020–2025 slice alone holds 58 citations, too few to rank. Citations are grouped to the base section, so §3203(a) and §3203(a)(4) count together. Penalties are the penalty as it stands now, after any appeals and settlements (the dataset's "current penalty"); because the window spans the 2017–2018 increase in Cal/OSHA's penalty schedule, averages mix two penalty eras and understate what a citation issued today carries. Averages are shown only for standards with at least 10 citations. Trigger shares use the inspection-type code on the inspection record. Cal/OSHA's own statewide summaries are at [DIR's citation statistics pages](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/Citation-statistics.html).

A citation count says what inspectors cited, not what any employer must do — the standards themselves say that. Each section above links to its full text.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the most cited Cal/OSHA standard in veterinary practices?

8 CCR §3203, the Injury and Illness Prevention Program — 43 of the 219 citations issued at California veterinary practices from 2010 through 2025 in the federal enforcement data. §5194, Hazard Communication, is second at 30. Together the two written-program standards are 33% of everything cited in the sector.

### How often does Cal/OSHA inspect veterinary clinics?

Rarely, and almost never on a schedule. Cal/OSHA opened 116 inspections at California veterinary practices from 2010 through 2025 — about seven a year statewide. 113 of them (97%) began with an employee complaint or an accident; two were planned inspections and one was a referral.

### Does the Cal/OSHA aerosol transmissible diseases standard apply to veterinary clinics?

The zoonotic version does. 8 CCR §5199.1, Aerosol Transmissible Diseases – Zoonotic, lists veterinary, animal inspection, and other animal health operations in its scope, and it was cited 9 times at California veterinary practices from 2010 through 2025 — the sixth most cited standard in the sector.

### Does SB 553 apply to veterinary clinics?

Yes. Labor Code §6401.9 exempts only health care facilities covered by 8 CCR §3342, and §3342's scope lists health facilities, home health care, emergency medical services, drug treatment programs, and correctional medical services — not veterinary practices. A veterinary clinic follows the general workplace violence prevention requirement like any other California employer.