How does Workplace File calculate safety grades?

We calculate a weighted violation score per inspection: Serious violations are weighted 3x, Willful 5x, Repeat 4x, and Other-than-Serious 1x. The total weighted score divided by inspections determines the letter grade from A (no violations) to F (score of 6.0 or higher).

Where does the data come from?

All data comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement database, which is public record under the Freedom of Information Act.

Are safety grades predictions of future workplace safety?

No. A safety grade reflects historical OSHA enforcement activity, not current workplace conditions or future risk. Citations may also be contested or under appeal.

Safety Grade Methodology

Workplace File assigns letter grades (A through F) to employers based on their public OSHA inspection and violation records. This page explains how grades are calculated.

Data Source

All data comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement data catalog, which is public record under the Freedom of Information Act. We download and process the complete dataset monthly. The database includes all OSHA inspections, violations, and accident investigations from 1970 to present.

Update frequency: Data is refreshed monthly from the DOL source. Last updated March 2026.

Scoring Formula

We calculate a weighted violation score per inspection:

Score = (Serious ×3 + Willful ×5 + Repeat ×4 + Other ×1) ÷ Total Inspections

Violation types are weighted by severity:

Violation Type	Weight	Description
Willful	5×	Employer intentionally or knowingly committed the violation
Repeat	4×	Substantially similar violation found within 5 years
Serious	3×	Substantial probability of death or serious physical harm
Other-than-Serious	1×	Direct relationship to safety but unlikely to cause death/serious harm

Grade Thresholds

Grade	Score Range	Interpretation
A	0	No violations found in OSHA records
B	< 1.0	Below-average violation rate
C	1.0 – 2.99	Average violation rate
D	3.0 – 5.99	Above-average violation rate
F	≥ 6.0	Significantly elevated violation rate

Example: How to Read a Safety Grade

Acme Construction Co. Houston, TX

12 Inspections

47 Violations

$89,000 Penalties

Score = (38 Serious ×3 + 1 Willful ×5 + 2 Repeat ×4 + 6 Other ×1) ÷ 12 = 10.9 per inspection → Grade F

This example employer had 47 violations across 12 OSHA inspections. Because most violations were classified as Serious (weighted 3×), their weighted score of 10.9 per inspection results in an F grade.

Important Limitations

Citations may be contested. OSHA records include proposed violations that may be under appeal, contested, or subsequently deleted. We filter out violations flagged as deleted but cannot account for all pending appeals.
Inspection coverage varies. OSHA does not inspect every workplace. Employers with more inspections are not necessarily less safe — they may simply operate in higher-scrutiny industries.
Grades are not predictions. A safety grade reflects historical OSHA enforcement activity, not current workplace conditions or future risk.
Name matching is approximate. Employer names in OSHA records may vary across inspections. We normalize names but some employers may be split across multiple records.

Wage & Hour Data

In addition to OSHA safety data, WorkplaceFile includes enforcement data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD). This covers wage theft cases including minimum wage violations, overtime violations, child labor violations, and other Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) enforcement actions. WHD data is matched to employer profiles using normalized name and location matching.

Contact & Partnerships

Workplace File is not affiliated with OSHA or any government agency. For official OSHA data, visit osha.gov.

If you represent a labor organization, safety advocacy group, legal firm, or news outlet and would like to use or reference Workplace File data, please contact us. We encourage the use of this data in reporting, research, and worker advocacy.