Whole Foods Market California, Inc. safety record at a glance
Whole Foods Market California, Inc. has been the subject of 19 Cal/OSHA inspections in California since 2000, opened between Jan 30, 2008 and Jan 18, 2023. 9 of them were accident inspections. 11 of them produced citations, 20 in all: 2 serious. Inspectors proposed $74,945 in penalties; after appeals and settlements the current total is $40,070. The largest single penalty, $24,450, came from an inspection opened Oct 13, 2017 in Dublin. 1 worker death was investigated. That places the employer at #2,220 of 122,854 California employers in the database by penalties.
Industry as coded by the inspecting office: Retail Trade; Transportation and Warehousing. Worksites in Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Ramon, Pasadena, Mill Valley, Campbell, Richmond.
Every inspection, newest first
Click a date for the citations in that inspection.
| Opened | City | Why | Result | Proposed | Penalty | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 18, 2023 | Berkeley | Complaint | 2 citations | $1,310 | $1,310 | Jun 5, 2023 |
| Feb 10, 2022 | Los Angeles | Fatality or catastrophe | death 2 citations | $5,375 | $4,125 | open |
| Nov 3, 2021 | San Francisco | Accident | 1 citation | $560 | $300 | Oct 14, 2024 |
| Aug 13, 2021 | San Ramon | Accident | no citations | 0 | 0 | Sep 21, 2021 |
| Feb 10, 2021 | Pasadena | Complaint | 2 citations | $8,075 | $1,700 | open |
| Nov 27, 2019 | Mill Valley | Complaint | no citations | 0 | 0 | Jan 10, 2020 |
| Nov 29, 2018 | San Ramon | Accident | no citations | 0 | 0 | Jan 11, 2019 |
| Aug 16, 2018 | Campbell | Unprogrammed related | no inspection made | 0 | 0 | Aug 27, 2018 |
| Jun 8, 2018 | Richmond | Planned | 2 citations | $685 | $685 | Sep 21, 2018 |
| Oct 13, 2017 | Dublin | Accident | 2 citations 1 serious | $36,700 | $24,450 | Sep 2, 2019 |
| Sep 6, 2017 | San Francisco | Accident | no citations | 0 | 0 | Oct 25, 2017 |
| Apr 7, 2016 | Richmond | Unprogrammed related | no citations | 0 | 0 | Jul 22, 2016 |
| Jun 17, 2015 | Palm Desert | Accident | no citations | 0 | 0 | Oct 13, 2015 |
| Mar 19, 2015 | Richmond | Accident | 1 citation | $10,000 | $3,000 | Aug 12, 2015 |
| Nov 14, 2014 | Encinitas | Complaint | 3 citations 1 serious | $7,910 | $3,600 | Jun 1, 2015 |
| Jan 15, 2013 | San Ramon | Accident | no citations | 0 | 0 | Feb 5, 2013 |
| Nov 21, 2011 | San Francisco | Accident | 2 citations | $3,655 | $600 | Sep 4, 2012 |
| Mar 10, 2011 | San Rafael | Complaint | 2 citations | $300 | $300 | May 14, 2011 |
| Jan 30, 2008 | Oakland | Complaint | 1 citation | $375 | 0 | Apr 30, 2008 |
Also recorded as: Whole Foods Market California, Inc; Whole Foods Market California Inc; Whole Foods Market California Inc.
The rules this employer was cited under
- 8 CCR 3314, Lockout and cleaning of machinery: 3 citations, 1 serious, $25,050
- 8 CCR 3205, COVID-19 prevention (expired): 3 citations, $2,075
- 8 CCR 342, Reporting serious injuries and deaths: 2 citations, $6,750
- 8 CCR 6151, Portable fire extinguishers: 2 citations, $695
- 8 CCR 5162, Emergency eyewash and shower: 1 citation, 1 serious, $2,700
- 8 CCR 4543: 1 citation, $750
- 8 CCR 5185: 1 citation, $550
- 8 CCR 5194, Hazard communication: 1 citation, $450
Accidents investigated
Local pages: Berkeley employment lawyer, Los Angeles employment lawyer, San Francisco 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. 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 Whole Foods Market California, Inc.
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.