McDonald's safety record at a glance
McDonald's has been the subject of 38 Cal/OSHA inspections in California since 2000, opened between Sep 27, 2000 and Oct 12, 2026. 28 of them were complaint inspections. 16 of them produced citations, 30 in all: 6 serious. Inspectors proposed $62,870 in penalties; after appeals and settlements the current total is $46,110. The largest single penalty, $20,100, came from an inspection opened Jul 29, 2003 in East Palo Alto. 1 worker death was investigated. That places the employer at #1,731 of 122,853 California employers in the database by penalties. The same employer has 2 WARN layoff notices on file with the EDD. It also appears in 35 federal wage and hour cases.
Industry as coded by the inspecting office: Accommodation and Food Services; Retail Trade. Worksites in Lancaster, San Jose, Hesperia, Northridge, Bakersfield, Santa Clara, Needles, Inglewood.
Every inspection, newest first
Click a date for the citations in that inspection.
| Opened | City | Why | Result | Penalty | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2026 | Lancaster | Complaint | open, no citations yet | $0 | open |
| Oct 6, 2026 | San Jose | Complaint | open, no citations yet | $0 | open |
| Sep 11, 2026 | Hesperia | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Jul 7, 2026 | Northridge | Complaint | open, no citations yet | $0 | open |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Bakersfield | Complaint | open, no citations yet | $0 | open |
| Jul 1, 2024 | Santa Clara | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Sep 13, 2024 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | Needles | Complaint | 2 citations | $320 | Mar 12, 2024 |
| May 18, 2022 | Inglewood | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Oct 27, 2023 |
| Mar 24, 2022 | Whittier | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Jan 22, 2025 |
| Jan 27, 2022 | Monterey Park | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Jul 1, 2022 |
| Apr 29, 2021 | Encinitas | Complaint | no citations | $0 | May 14, 2021 |
| Apr 2, 2021 | San Francisco | Complaint | 1 citation | $450 | Oct 13, 2021 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | Del Mar | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Aug 13, 2020 |
| Jun 11, 2020 | Huntington Park | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Jun 24, 2020 |
| Dec 19, 2019 | Folsom | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Apr 9, 2020 |
| Jun 5, 2019 | Oakley | Complaint | 1 citation | $300 | Oct 28, 2019 |
| Sep 26, 2017 | Fresno | Complaint | 1 citation | $655 | Apr 10, 2020 |
| Dec 16, 2016 | Fresno | Complaint | 5 citations | $925 | Jun 11, 2017 |
| Jul 6, 2015 | Foothill Ranch | Fatality or catastrophe | death 1 citation | $260 | Jan 30, 2017 |
| Jun 20, 2012 | Newport Beach | Accident | no citations | $0 | Jul 23, 2012 |
| May 7, 2012 | Stockton | Accident | 1 citation | $0 | Jun 20, 2012 |
| Sep 8, 2011 | San Leandro | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Nov 15, 2011 |
| Jul 15, 2011 | Oroville | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Sep 22, 2011 |
| Aug 6, 2010 | Oroville | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Nov 22, 2010 |
| Jul 8, 2010 | Redding | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Nov 18, 2010 |
| Aug 19, 2008 | Paradise | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Oct 16, 2008 |
| Mar 26, 2008 | Santa Clara | Accident | 1 citation | $0 $75 proposed | Apr 20, 2009 |
| Jun 27, 2007 | Fresno | Complaint | 2 citations 1 serious | $5,225 | Oct 9, 2007 |
| May 15, 2006 | Stockton | Complaint | no citations | $0 | May 30, 2007 |
| Apr 26, 2005 | Santa Rosa | Complaint | 2 citations | $300 | Apr 24, 2006 |
| Feb 11, 2005 | Los Angeles | Accident | 2 citations 1 serious | $5,950 $18,550 proposed | Dec 8, 2006 |
| Sep 1, 2004 | Santa Rosa | Accident | 1 citation | $300 | Apr 24, 2006 |
| Apr 29, 2004 | Bakersfield | Referral | 2 citations 1 serious | $2,850 $6,935 proposed | Jul 13, 2006 |
| Jul 29, 2003 | East Palo Alto | Accident | 3 citations 1 serious | $20,100 | Jan 15, 2006 |
| Jun 27, 2002 | Industry | Accident | 4 citations 2 serious | $8,250 | Sep 13, 2010 |
| May 18, 2001 | West Sacramento | Complaint | no inspection made | $0 | May 25, 2001 |
| Jan 4, 2001 | Barstow | Accident | no citations | $0 | Apr 2, 2001 |
| Sep 27, 2000 | Pacifi | Complaint | 1 citation | $225 | Oct 31, 2000 |
Also recorded as: McDonald's Corporation; McDonald's USA, LLC; McDonald's (Needles).
The rules this employer was cited under
- 8 CCR 3203, Injury and Illness Prevention Program: 4 citations, $1,470
- 8 CCR 3319, Fueling: 2 citations, 1 serious, $15,100
- 8 CCR 2340.23, Openings (repealed): 2 citations, 1 serious, $5,500
- 8 CCR 2340.16, Electrical work space: 2 citations, $460
- 8 CCR 5142, Mechanically Driven Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems to Provide Minimum Building Ventilation: 2 citations, $385
- 8 CCR 4075, Gears and Sprockets: 1 citation, 1 serious, $5,400
- 8 CCR 342, Reporting serious injuries and deaths: 1 citation, $5,000
- 8 CCR 3328, Machinery and equipment, general: 1 citation, 1 serious, $3,375
Accidents investigated
Local pages: Lancaster employment lawyer, San Jose employment lawyer, Hesperia employment lawyer.
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. Penalty is the current figure after any appeal or settlement; where it was reduced, the amount the inspector first proposed is shown under it. "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 McDonald's
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 4, 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.