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Enforcement of the OSHA workplace poster requirement

Summary A compliance specialist asked how often OSHA cited employers for failing to post its workplace notice. OSHA reported citation counts for fiscal years 1996 and 1997 and said inspectors then gave missing posters to employers so they could comply immediately. OSHA marks this historical letter archival.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1998-03-20
Date issued
March 20, 1998
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this letter an archive document that may no longer represent policy; its citation counts are for fiscal years 1996 and 1997.
Status last verified October 9, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1903 Posting Requirements Enforcement
Source
View the official document

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The current status of this document is unclear
OSHA labels this letter an archive document that may no longer represent policy; its citation counts are for fiscal years 1996 and 1997. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

March 20, 1998

Mr. Patrick Zimmerman
Compliance Specialist
Regulatory Compliance Agency, Inc.
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Zimmerman:

This is in response to your letter of December 10, 1996, addressed to former Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich. The letter requested statistical data regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) enforcement of 29 CPR 1903.2, the Posting of Notice requirements.

Per your request for the "Job Safety and Health Protection" statistical data portion of your letter, the OSHA Office of Statistics computed during Fiscal Year 1997 (October 1996 - September 1997), that the regulation which requires posting of the notice, 29 CFR 1903.2, was cited five (5) times with no penalties assessed. During Fiscal Year 1996, this standard was cited twelve (12) times, again with no penalties.

OSHA's inspection policy dictates that when a compliance officer discovers that the employer has not posted the notice, he or she simply provides a poster to the employer, thus enabling the employer to immediately come into compliance with the regulation.

I appreciate the opportunity to clarify this matter for you.

Sincerely,

John B. Miles, Jr.
Director
Directorates of Compliance Programs

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