Packaging Corporation of America safety record at a glance
Packaging Corporation of America has been the subject of 9 Cal/OSHA inspections in California since 2000, opened between Sep 13, 2016 and Oct 12, 2026. 5 of them were complaint inspections. 5 of them produced citations, 14 in all: 6 serious. Inspectors proposed $94,775 in penalties; after appeals and settlements the current total is $61,895. The largest single penalty, $32,060, came from an inspection opened May 2, 2023 in Vernon. That places the employer at #1,038 of 122,853 California employers in the database by penalties. The same employer has 1 WARN layoff notice on file with the EDD. It also appears in 1 federal wage and hour case.
Industry as coded by the inspecting office: Manufacturing. Worksites in McClellan, Kingsburg, Vernon, South Gate.
Every inspection, newest first
Click a date for the citations in that inspection.
| Opened | City | Why | Result | Penalty | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2026 | McClellan | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Oct 15, 2026 |
| Aug 2, 2024 | Kingsburg | Accident | 1 citation | $375 | Jan 13, 2025 |
| May 2, 2023 | Vernon | Accident | 3 citations 2 serious | $32,060 | open |
| Jan 20, 2023 | Kingsburg | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Mar 23, 2023 |
| Jun 9, 2022 | Kingsburg | Accident | 2 citations | $4,000 $23,500 proposed | Mar 10, 2025 |
| Jan 25, 2021 | McClellan | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Jun 14, 2021 |
| Dec 26, 2018 | Vernon | Accident | 2 citations 1 serious | $18,210 | open |
| Oct 10, 2018 | Kingsburg | Complaint | no citations | $0 | Nov 29, 2018 |
| Sep 13, 2016 | South Gate | Complaint | 6 citations 3 serious | $7,250 $20,630 proposed | Jul 10, 2017 |
The rules this employer was cited under
- 8 CCR 3314, Lockout and cleaning of machinery: 6 citations, 3 serious, $38,310
- 8 CCR 3203, Injury and Illness Prevention Program: 2 citations, $250
- 8 CCR 4002, Machine guarding, moving parts: 1 citation, 1 serious, $18,000
- 8 CCR 3212, Floor openings and wall openings: 1 citation, 1 serious, $2,250
- 8 CCR 4075, Gears and Sprockets: 1 citation, 1 serious, $2,250
- 8 CCR 3396, Heat illness prevention, indoor: 1 citation, $375
- 8 CCR 3650, Industrial trucks, operating rules: 1 citation, $250
- 5A0001: 1 citation, $210
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. 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 Packaging Corporation of America
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.