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What gets employers fined: wage and safety violations by industry

Reviewed Sep 25, 2026 U.S. Department of Labor enforcement files (WHD and OSHA) How we verify

Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. General information; laws vary by state. Terms of use

U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records for federal fiscal years 2021 to 2025, by industry and state. Every figure shows the number of cases or items it is based on (n).

Enforcement data shows where the Department of Labor investigated and what it found; it is not a measure of how common violations are.

Headline finding

WHD found a violation in 80.5% of the cases it concluded. WHD found a violation in 41,072 of the 50,990 cases it concluded (80.5%). Across all industries employers agreed to pay $835.2M in back wages to 642,198 workers. WHD targets likely violators, so this is not the violation rate among all employers. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

cases with violations: 41,072 (n = 50,990)
cases concluded: 50,990 (n = 50,990)
share with violations: 80.5% (n = 50,990)
back wages: $835,167,434 (n = 50,990)
employees owed: 642,198 (n = 50,990)

41,072 of 50,990WHD cases that found a violation
$835.2Mback wages employers agreed to pay (n = 50,990 cases)
642,198employees owed back wages (n = 50,990 cases)
$137.3Mcivil money penalties assessed, not collected (n = 50,990 cases)
On this page

4 more findings

Finding 2

Overtime is 60.5% of all back wages. The share is 83% in retail, 86% in child care and 95% in home health, and 46% of all violation cases had overtime back wages. The data does not say why overtime was unpaid; it shows that hours over 40 in a week are where most of the money is owed. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

overtime share of back wages, all industries: 60.5% (n = 26,327)
overtime share of back wages, retail: 83% (n = 1,871)
overtime share of back wages, child care: 85.7% (n = 507)
overtime share of back wages, home health: 95.3% (n = 1,122)
violation cases with overtime back wages: 46% (n = 41,072)

Finding 3

Restaurants and food service were assessed 62% of child-labor penalties. 26% of restaurant violation cases involved child labor, with 16,473 minors employed in violation. Restaurants received $49.3M of the $79.9M in child-labor penalties assessed nationwide (62%). In Pennsylvania 45% (n = 442) and in Ohio 45% (n = 268) of restaurant violation cases involved child labor. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

restaurant violation cases with child labor: 25.9% (n = 10,360)
minors employed in violation: 16,473 (n = 2,687)
child-labor penalties, restaurants: $49,288,128 (n = 2,687)
child-labor penalties, all industries: $79,897,558 (n = 4,090)
PA restaurant violation cases with child labor: 45.2% (n = 442)
OH restaurant violation cases with child labor: 44.8% (n = 268)

Finding 4

Restaurants and food service were assessed 43% of WHD's civil money penalties. Food service was assessed $59.0M of the $137.3M in civil money penalties across all industries (43%), while it accounts for about 25% of violation cases (10,360 of 41,072). Penalties are amounts assessed, not collected. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

civil money penalties, food service: $59,031,497 (n = 11,909)
civil money penalties, all: $137,342,724 (n = 50,990)
food service violation cases: 10,360 (n = 11,909)
all violation cases: 41,072 (n = 50,990)

Finding 5

Home-health cases with back wages had a median of $14,297. The median back-wage amount in a home-health case was $14,297 (n = 1,122 cases with back wages), against $5,485 across all industries. In Pennsylvania the median was $26,356 (n = 142), and 205 cases added up to $23.0M. Overtime is 95% of home-health back wages. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

median back wages, home health: $14,297 (n = 1,122)
median back wages, all: $5,485 (n = 26,327)
median back wages, PA home health: $26,356 (n = 142)
PA home health cases: 205 (n = 205)
PA home health back wages: $22,972,009 (n = 205)
overtime share of home health back wages: 95.3% (n = 1,122)

Pick your industry and state

Choose an industry and a state. The chart shows what kind of violation WHD found, as a share of the cases where it found one. Seven large states have their own figures.

All industries, United States: what WHD found

Share of the 41,072 violation cases with each kind of violation. A case can have more than one kind, so the bars do not add up to 100%.

Overtime46%
Minimum wage12.7%
Child labor10%
Recordkeeping or other (estimate)27.2%
Davis-Bacon6.5%

41,072 of 50,990 cases found a violation; $835.2M in back wages agreed; $137.3M in civil money penalties assessed. Federal fiscal years 2021 to 2025. Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov).

All figures for this choice, with n
  • 50,990 WHD cases concluded (n = 50,990)
  • 41,072 Cases with violations found (n = 50,990)
  • 80.5% Share of cases with violations (n = 50,990)
  • $835.2M Back wages employers agreed to pay ($835,167,434; n = 50,990)
  • 642,198 Employees owed back wages (n = 50,990)
  • $137.3M Civil money penalties assessed ($137,342,724; n = 50,990)
  • $5,485 Median back wages per case (cases with back wages) (n = 26,327)
  • 46% Violation cases with overtime back wages (n = 41,072)
  • 12.7% Violation cases with minimum-wage back wages (n = 41,072)
  • 10% Violation cases with child-labor violations (n = 41,072)
  • 27.2% Violation cases with recordkeeping/other FLSA violations only (estimate) (n = 41,072, data.dol.gov)
  • 60.5% Share of back wages that were overtime (n = 26,327)
  • 8% Share of back wages that were minimum wage (n = 26,327)
  • 22,190 Minors employed in violation of child-labor rules (n = 4,090)
  • $79.9M Child-labor penalties assessed ($79,897,558; n = 4,090)
  • 6.5% Violation cases under Davis-Bacon (federally funded construction) (n = 41,072)
  • $74.2M Davis-Bacon back wages ($74,198,355; n = 2,677)
Most-cited federal safety standards
  1. Fall protection: when it is required (29 CFR 1926.501): 43,735 violation items, 6.8% of items
  2. Hazard communication: chemical labels, safety data sheets and training (29 CFR 1910.1200): 37,016 violation items, 5.8% of items
  3. Respirators and fit testing (29 CFR 1910.134): 23,924 violation items, 3.7% of items
  4. Lockout/tagout of machines during servicing (29 CFR 1910.147): 20,607 violation items, 3.2% of items
  5. Ladders (29 CFR 1926.1053): 18,762 violation items, 2.9% of items

Ranked by violation items; n = 641,361 items in 202,882 inspections with violations. Ranking basis: federal 29 CFR numbering only (State Plan own codes excluded from the ranking). Source: data.dol.gov.

What to check in your business: all industries

See the table
IndustryCasesBack wages
All industries50,990$835.2M
Restaurants and food service11,909$135.4M
Retail3,693$31.5M
Construction7,517$142.8M
Health care (incl. home care)5,976$154.1M
Home health and home care (subset of health care)1,820$79.1M
Child care883$2.2M
WhereCasesBack wagesPenalties
United States50,990$835.2M$137.3M
California3,434$76.1M$12.0M
Texas8,122$89.7M$4.5M
Florida3,843$53.1M$5.7M
New York2,787$47.8M$3.1M
Illinois1,804$23.0M$2.0M
Pennsylvania2,123$45.9M$12.3M
Ohio1,293$21.5M$4.9M

WHD cases concluded, back wages employers agreed to pay and civil money penalties assessed, FY2021 to FY2025. Percentages based on fewer than 30 cases are not shown anywhere on this page. Source: data.dol.gov.

Federal OSHA and State Plans

California runs its own OSHA State Plan (Cal/OSHA), so its lists use California Title 8 codes. The New York and Illinois State Plans cover only public employers, so private employers there appear under federal 29 CFR codes. Rankings for the other geographies count federal 29 CFR standards only (osha.gov State Plans).

More from the data

Finding 6

Davis-Bacon rules were in 41% of construction violation cases. 41% of construction violation cases (2,398 of 5,799) involved the Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage rules, and they account for 47% of construction back wages ($67.2M of $142.8M). This applies only to federally funded or assisted construction contracts. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

construction violation cases with Davis-Bacon: 2,398 (n = 5,799)
construction violation cases: 5,799 (n = 7,517)
Davis-Bacon back wages: $67,191,077 (n = 2,398)
construction back wages: $142,832,109 (n = 7,517)

Finding 7

Texas had 299 child-care cases, more than six other large states combined. WHD concluded 299 child-care cases in Texas, more than CA, FL, NY, IL, PA and OH combined (179). The median back-wage amount per case was small ($1,148, n = 146), and 54% of violation cases had overtime back wages (n = 253). This reflects where WHD investigated, not how Texas child-care employers compare. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

TX child care cases: 299 (n = 299)
CA+FL+NY+IL+PA+OH child care cases: 179 (n = 179)
TX child care median back wages: $1,148 (n = 146)
TX child care violation cases with overtime: 54.2% (n = 253)

Finding 8

Texas had 8,122 federal wage cases; California had 3,434. WHD concluded 8,122 cases in Texas but 3,434 in California, which has more workers (New York: 2,787; Florida: 3,843). California and New York have their own strong wage enforcers, so many cases there never reach WHD. Where federal WHD is the main enforcer (such as TX and FL), federal data is a better guide. (Source: WHD enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

TX cases: 8,122 (n = 8,122)
CA cases: 3,434 (n = 3,434)
NY cases: 2,787 (n = 2,787)
FL cases: 3,843 (n = 3,843)

Finding 9

Hazard Communication is the most-cited OSHA standard in restaurants and retail. Hazard Communication (29 CFR 1910.1200) is the most-cited federal standard in restaurants (1,135 violation items, ranked 1) and retail (2,014, ranked 1). It ranks third in health care. Safety data sheets, labels and training for cleaning chemicals are what this rule covers. (Source: OSHA enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

1910.1200 items, restaurants: 1,135 (n = 8,979)
1910.1200 items, retail: 2,014 (n = 26,290)
1910.1200 rank in health care (29 CFR ranking): 3 (n = 16,648)

Finding 10

Fall protection is 16% of federal construction violation items. Across the US, 29 CFR 1926.501 "Duty to have fall protection" accounts for 42,772 of 264,389 construction violation items (16%). The rest of the federal top 5 are ladders (1926.1053), fall protection training (1926.503), scaffolds (1926.451) and eye and face protection on construction sites (1926.102). In California, Cal/OSHA's most-cited rules are the written injury and illness prevention program (T8 1509) and the heat illness prevention for outdoor work (T8 3395). (Source: OSHA enforcement data (data.dol.gov))

1926.501 items: 42,772 (n = 264,389)
construction violation items: 264,389 (n = 91,632)
US construction federal top 2-5: 1926.1053, 1926.503, 1926.451, 1926.102 (n = 264,389)
CA construction top 2: 1509, 3395 (n = 17,030)

Health care's most-cited OSHA standards are Bloodborne Pathogens (1910.1030, 2,548 items) and Respiratory Protection (1910.134, 2,264). In California, where Cal/OSHA is the State Plan, 1,118 restaurant inspections were opened, compared with 147 in Texas (federal OSHA). (Source: data.dol.gov)

1910.1030 items, health care: 2,548 (n = 16,648)
1910.134 items, health care: 2,264 (n = 16,648)
CA restaurant inspections: 1,118 (n = 1,118)
TX restaurant inspections: 147 (n = 147)

Method, period, n and caveats

Period: federal fiscal years 2021 to 2025 (October 1 to September 30). n: 50,990 WHD cases concluded in the United States; every figure on this page shows its own n. Sources: WHD enforcement data and OSHA violation data (data.dol.gov).

Enforcement data is not a violation rate. It shows where investigators looked. Recent years are incomplete because cases take months to appear in the file; lower counts for FY2024 and FY2025 are not a trend.

  • Enforcement data is not a violation rate. It shows where WHD and OSHA investigated. Both agencies aim at high-violation industries, so those industries look worse. (data.dol.gov)
  • Recent years are incomplete. The WHD year is based on the end of the back-wage period, not the date the case closed, and the file only holds concluded cases. For cases whose findings ended in FY2016-FY2021 (a mature cohort), the median lag from findings end to the file load date (the date the case was loaded into the file) is about 229 days and 90% appear within about 628 days. Per-year case counts: FY2021 13,659, FY2022 11,541, FY2023 10,430, FY2024 8,466, FY2025 6,894. The lower FY2024-FY2025 counts are mostly this lag. Do not read them as a trend in enforcement.
  • Recordkeeping is estimated. WHD does not report recordkeeping violations separately. The "recordkeeping/other FLSA" share is an estimate (an FLSA violation with no minimum-wage or overtime back wages) and is labelled as an estimate. (data.dol.gov)
  • Violation types overlap. A case can include overtime and child labor, so the shares add to more than 100%.
  • Penalties are assessed, not collected. Back wages are amounts the employer agreed to pay.
  • State coverage differs. California (Cal/OSHA) is an OSHA State Plan; the New York and Illinois State Plans cover only public employers. States with their own wage agencies (for example the California Labor Commissioner and the New York DOL) handle many wage cases that never appear in federal WHD data. The OSHA the State Plan flag column is empty in the 2026-09 file. (data.dol.gov)
  • Small cells. Several state and industry cells are small (for example California child care has 0 WHD cases and Illinois child care has 12). Percentages are not published when n < 30.
  • OSHA counts are citation line items; one inspection can cite the same standard several times. (data.dol.gov)

Reporting lag: days from the end of the period the investigation covered to the date the case was loaded into the file; the date the case was loaded into the file has batch reloads (e.g. 11,540 rows loaded 2022-10), so this is approximate. Cases whose findings ended in FY2016 to FY2021: median 229 days, 90% within 628 days (n = 95,743 cases). Source: data.dol.gov.

Method, filters and file versions
  • WHD: one row of the DOL WHD compliance-action bulk file = one concluded case. Fiscal year = federal FY (Oct 1 to Sep 30) of the end of the period the investigation covered, because the file has no case open or close date. State = the state of the case. Industry = the first digits of the industry code (NAICS) of the case; legacy non-NAICS codes (leading 0) count in all industries only.
  • Percent of violation cases uses cases with any violations found in the case as the denominator (n). Overtime = any overtime back wages agreed; minimum wage = any minimum-wage back wages agreed; child labor = any child-labor violations; recordkeeping/other FLSA (ESTIMATE) = any FLSA violations with no minimum-wage or overtime back wages; Davis-Bacon = any Davis-Bacon violations. (data.dol.gov)
  • Share of back wages = sum of overtime back wages agreed (or minimum-wage back wages agreed) divided by sum of back wages the employer agreed to pay; n shown is the number of cases with back wages. (data.dol.gov)
  • Median back wages = median of back wages the employer agreed to pay among cases with any back wages the employer agreed to pay (mean of the two middle values when n is even).
  • OSHA: inspections with the date the inspection opened in FY2021-FY2025 joined to violations on the inspection number; violations with deleted-record flag set excluded. State = the state of the inspected site; industry = the first digits of the industry code (NAICS) of the inspected site. Standards grouped to Part.section. Ranking by number of violation items (citation line items). California ranking uses all code systems (Cal/OSHA Title 8); other geographies rank federal 29 CFR numbering only. (data.dol.gov)
  • Plain-English standard titles are an editorial paraphrase of the official title shown next to them (eCFR for 29 CFR, dir.ca.gov for Title 8).

Suppression rule: Percentages are null (suppressed: true, with a note) when n < 30. Counts and dollar sums are always shown with n. Medians with n < 30 carry a "small sample" note.

Filters

  • period: FY2021-FY2025 (federal fiscal years)
  • whd year field: the end of the period the investigation covered
  • osha year field: the date the inspection opened
  • industries naics: all_industries all (legacy non-NAICS codes included); food_service 722; retail 44-45; construction 23; healthcare 621, 622, 623, 624120; home_health 621610, 624120; child_care 624410
  • whd state field: the state of the case
  • osha state field: the state of the inspected site
  • osha deleted: deleted-record flag set excluded

File versions

  • whd: WHD_enforcement.zip
    Last-Modified: Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:38:32 GMT
    md5: b35a7d4d92c8bf337dbd381e3b696ef2
    367,890 rows in the file
  • osha_inspection: OSHA_inspection.zip
    Last-Modified: Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:04:51 GMT
    md5: 081f5b0418631284fdf2c1ef1b80d378
    5,201,660 rows in the file
  • osha_violation: OSHA_violation.zip
    Last-Modified: Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:11:35 GMT
    md5: b1162d9a81b81ad8fd3d8d588cc7d9bc
    13,272,520 rows in the file

Column names in the data files

  • FLSA_CL_CMP_ASSD_AMT: child-labor penalties assessed
  • FLSA_OT_BW_ATP_AMT: overtime back wages agreed
  • FLSA_MW_BW_ATP_AMT: minimum-wage back wages agreed
  • FLSA_CL_VIOLTN_CNT: child-labor violations
  • FLSA_CL_MINOR_CNT: minors employed in violation of child-labor rules
  • FLSA_VIOLTN_CNT: FLSA violations
  • CASE_VIOLTN_CNT: violations found in the case
  • DBRA_VIOLTN_CNT: Davis-Bacon violations
  • DBRA_BW_ATP_AMT: Davis-Bacon back wages agreed
  • BW_ATP_AMT: back wages the employer agreed to pay
  • EE_ATP_CNT: employees owed back wages
  • CMP_ASSD: civil money penalties assessed
  • FINDINGS_END_DATE: the end of the period the investigation covered
  • LOAD_DT: the date the case was loaded into the file
  • ST_CD: the state of the case
  • NAIC_CD: the industry code (NAICS) of the case
  • OPEN_DATE: the date the inspection opened
  • ACTIVITY_NR: the inspection number
  • DELETE_FLAG: the deleted-record flag
  • SITE_STATE: the state of the inspected site
  • NAICS_CODE: the industry code (NAICS) of the inspected site
  • STATE_FLAG: the State Plan flag

How the Desk handles sources and estimates: methodology.

Download the data

Enforcement data shows where the Department of Labor investigated and what it found; it is not a measure of how common violations are. The files hold aggregated counts and sums only: no employer names, addresses or case identifiers.

wage-violations.csvWHD metrics for every geography x industry x fiscal year cell in `cells` (one row per metric).wage-violations-by-state.csvOne row per metric for each of the 51 jurisdictions in `by_state` (all industries, FY2021-FY2025).wage-violations-osha-top.csvOSHA top 5 cited standards for every geography x industry in `osha_top` (FY2021-FY2025).wage-violations.jsonFull data file: every cell with value, n and field, plus method, caveats and file versions.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division and OSHA enforcement data, compiled by InterObservers Employer Desk. Free to reuse with attribution and a link to this page.

Sources (8)

Checked Sep 24, 2026 · How we verify every rule · Report an error

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