OSHA citations can only be issued for violations that have occurred within six months prior to the citation issuance. According to the OSH Act, no citation may be issued after the expiration of six months following the occurrence of any violation
. This six-month statute of limitations was confirmed by a federal court ruling which rejected OSHA's prior practice of extending citation issuance beyond six months, even up to five years, for recordkeeping violations
. There are exceptions where the six-month period may be tolled, such as if the employer concealed the violation or misled OSHA, in which case the six- month clock starts when OSHA discovers or should have discovered the violation
. Also, for continuing violations where unsafe conditions persist, OSHA may toll the statute of limitations because the violation is ongoing rather than a discrete past event
. Regarding repeat violations, OSHA can issue citations for repeat offenses based on prior citations with no statutory time limit on how far back OSHA can look. While OSHA's policy generally considers repeat violations if issued within three to five years of the prior citation's final order or abatement date, a federal appellate court ruled that OSHA has unlimited look-back authority to establish repeat violations
. In summary:
- Citation issuance time limit: 6 months from the violation occurrence (with exceptions for concealment or continuing violations)
- Repeat violations: No statutory limit on look-back period; OSHA can consider citations from any time in the past to classify a violation as repeat
This framework ensures citations address current or recent violations while allowing OSHA to penalize repeated unsafe practices regardless of how long ago the prior citation was issued.
