City of Palo Alto safety record at a glance
City of Palo Alto has been the subject of 5 Cal/OSHA inspections in California since 2000, opened between Jan 10, 2007 and Nov 16, 2019. 3 of them were accident inspections. 4 of them produced citations, 11 in all: 8 serious. Inspectors proposed $121,700 in penalties; after appeals and settlements the current total is $73,775. The largest single penalty, $68,175, came from an inspection opened Nov 16, 2019 in Palo Alto. 1 worker death was investigated. That places the employer at #778 of 122,854 California employers in the database by penalties.
Industry as coded by the inspecting office: Public Administration; Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation; Administrative and Support and Waste Management Services. Worksites in Palo Alto.
Every inspection, newest first
Click a date for the citations in that inspection.
| Opened | City | Why | Result | Proposed | Penalty | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 2019 | Palo Alto | Fatality or catastrophe | death 6 citations 6 serious | $85,500 | $68,175 | Nov 11, 2024 |
| Jan 28, 2014 | Palo Alto | Accident | 2 citations | $150 | $150 | Jul 26, 2014 |
| Jul 15, 2009 | Palo Alto | Planned | 1 citation | $50 | $50 | Aug 1, 2009 |
| Aug 12, 2008 | Palo Alto | Accident | 2 citations 2 serious | $36,000 | $5,400 | Mar 12, 2011 |
| Jan 10, 2007 | Palo Alto | Accident | no citations | 0 | 0 | Jan 30, 2007 |
The rules this employer was cited under
- 8 CCR 2941: 2 citations, 2 serious, $36,000
- 8 CCR 2940: 2 citations, 2 serious, $7,425
- 8 CCR 3395, Heat illness prevention, outdoor: 2 citations, $200
- 8 CCR 2940.2: 1 citation, 1 serious, $18,000
- 8 CCR 2940.11: 1 citation, 1 serious, $6,750
- 8 CCR 3203, Injury and Illness Prevention Program: 1 citation, 1 serious, $2,700
- 8 CCR 3328, Machinery and equipment, general: 1 citation, 1 serious, $2,700
- 8 CCR 1430.40: 1 citation
Accidents investigated
How to read this record
Each row is one inspection by Cal/OSHA (or, rarely, federal OSHA) of one worksite. Why is the reason it was opened. Proposed is the penalty the inspector assessed; penalty is the current figure after any appeal or settlement. "Serious" means a realistic possibility of death or serious harm; "willful" and "repeat" carry penalties up to $162,851 each.
Citations document that the employer was told, in writing, what the rule required and when. That knowledge is often the center of a retaliation case: a worker who complained about the hazard an inspector later cited, and was then fired or cut, has a Labor Code 6310 claim, with lost wages and attorney's fees.
Full explainer: how to read a Cal/OSHA record.
If you work, or worked, at City of Palo Alto
Write down what you reported, to whom and when, and what changed afterward: shifts, pay, duties, write-ups. Request the inspection file from the Cal/OSHA district office using the activity number on the inspection page. An injury goes through workers' compensation; a firing, demotion or threat after a safety complaint or injury report is an employment claim with a one-year deadline at the Labor Commissioner (Labor Code 6310) and a longer one in court. Free, confidential review: (800) 371-3088 or send what you have.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor OSHA enforcement data, California inspections. Record last checked Nov 1, 2026. Back to the safety tracker.
About this data: Records come from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement datasets (inspection, violation, accident and accident injury tables), which carry Cal/OSHA's state-plan inspections alongside federal ones. We load every inspection of a California worksite opened since January 1, 2000 and refresh it weekly. Employer names, addresses and industry codes are as the inspecting office recorded them; similar names are grouped where they clearly refer to the same employer. A citation can be reduced, vacated or withdrawn on appeal, and an inspection can stay open for months, so a record can change. Penalties shown as "current" reflect the latest status in the federal file. This page is public information about the employer's regulatory record, not legal advice and not a statement that any person was harmed or any law broken beyond what the record states.