Quick answer. OSHA has approved 29 State Plans, and each one covers a single state or territory. 22 State Plans (21 states and Puerto Rico) cover private employers as well as state and local government workers; 7 cover only state and local government workers (Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Texas has no State Plan: private employers in Texas are under federal OSHA and 29 CFR as written, and Texas state and local government workers are not covered by OSHA. The list is OSHA's own, at osha.gov/stateplans.
How state plans work
Section 18 of the OSH Act lets a state run its own occupational safety and health program instead of federal OSHA, if federal OSHA approves the plan and the state keeps it "at least as effective" as the federal one. Federal OSHA still monitors the state, still funds about half of it, and can step back in if the state stops enforcing. Day to day, though, the inspector who shows up at your gate in Sacramento, Seattle or Raleigh works for the state, cites a state rule number, and follows a state appeals process.
Most state plans adopt the federal standards word for word and add a few of their own. A handful, California and Washington especially, write much of their own text and have been doing it since before federal OSHA existed. Where a state is silent, the federal rule is usually what they adopted. Where a state wrote its own, the state rule wins, and it is never looser than federal; by law it can only be the same or stricter.
The map: who is where
| Coverage | States and territories | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| State plan, private and public employers (22) | Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming | The state agency inspects you, cites you, and takes your injury reports. Read the state's rules, not just 29 CFR. |
| State plan, state and local government only (7) | Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, U.S. Virgin Islands | Private employers are under federal OSHA. The state plan covers only public agencies, schools, cities and counties. |
| Federal OSHA (everyone else) | Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, New England outside the two above, and the rest | 29 CFR 1904, 1910 and 1926 as written. Public employees in these states are generally not covered by OSHA at all, though several states cover them under their own laws. |
Federal OSHA keeps a few things everywhere, even inside state-plan states: federal government workplaces, the Postal Service, and in several states maritime work and federal enclaves like military bases. If you are a private employer doing ordinary work on private or state land, the state's plan is your agency.
What actually changes in a state-plan state
- The rule numbers. California cites Title 8 sections (8 CCR §1541 for excavations, not 1926.651). Washington cites WAC chapters (WAC 296-155 for construction). Michigan cites MIOSHA Parts. Oregon cites OAR 437. Your written programs, JHAs and training records should cite the number the inspector will use.
- Extra standards. The common additions are a required written safety program for every employer (California's IIPP, Washington's APP, Minnesota's AWAIR, Nevada's written program for more than 10 employees), heat illness rules, wildfire smoke rules, and in a few states workplace violence rules outside health care.
- Reporting. Federal: fatality within 8 hours, hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours, to OSHA. State plans take the report themselves, and several are stricter: California wants every serious injury within 8 hours (8 CCR §342), Washington wants hospitalizations within 8 hours (WAC 296-27-031), Utah wants serious injuries within 8 hours, and Michigan adds power-press injuries within 30 days.
- Trigger heights and numbers. Washington requires fall protection at 4 feet in construction, not 6. California's general construction trigger is 7½ feet, with 6 feet for some work and 15 feet for certain residential framing. These are the details that catch out-of-state crews.
- Penalties. State maximums have to be at least the federal ones ($16,550 per serious violation and $165,514 per willful or repeat violation in 2026). Some go higher: California's maximum for a serious violation is $25,000 by statute.
- Appeals and procedure. Different boards, different deadlines to contest, different informal conference rules. The 15-working-day federal deadline to contest a citation is not universal; check the citation itself.
The recordkeeping forms do not change. The OSHA 300, 301 and 300A, the February 1 posting and the March 2 electronic submission apply in every state, with the state's own form numbers in a few places.
California, the big one
Cal/OSHA is the oldest and most different plan, and it covers the largest workforce in the country. If you take work there, these are the differences we see hit contractors and shops from other states first:
- The IIPP. Every employer, every size, needs a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program with eight named elements: responsibility, compliance, communication, hazard identification and inspections, accident investigation, correction of hazards, training, and recordkeeping (8 CCR §3203). It is the most-cited Cal/OSHA standard, and "we have a safety manual" is not the same thing.
- Construction: the Code of Safe Practices and tailgate meetings. A written code of safe practices for your operations, and supervisor-led toolbox meetings at least every 10 working days (8 CCR §1509).
- Heat, outdoors and indoors. Outdoors (§3395): shade when it passes 80°F, water, cool-down rests, acclimatization, a written plan, and high-heat procedures at 95°F for construction, agriculture, landscaping, oil and gas, and hauling of agricultural and construction materials. Indoors (§3396, since July 2024): the rule starts at 82°F and the controls kick in at 87°F, or 82°F with heavy clothing or radiant heat.
- Workplace violence prevention plan. Since July 1, 2024, nearly every employer needs a written plan, training and an incident log (Labor Code §6401.9), not just hospitals.
- Permits before high-hazard construction. A Cal/OSHA permit before digging any trench 5 feet or deeper that a person will enter, and before building, scaffolding or demolishing anything more than three stories or 36 feet (Labor Code §6500, 8 CCR §341). Out-of-state excavators get caught by this one constantly.
- Reporting. Every serious injury or illness, immediately and within 8 hours (8 CCR §342). "Serious" includes any in-patient hospitalization beyond observation, any amputation, any loss of an eye, and serious degrees of permanent disfigurement.
- Fall protection at 7½ feet for most construction work (§1670), lead and silica rules stricter than federal, crane operator certification through Cal/OSHA-accredited certifiers, and its own permissible exposure limits for a long list of chemicals.
Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Nevada, Maryland and the rest
| State | Agency | What is notably different |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | L&I, Division of Occupational Safety and Health | Written Accident Prevention Program for every employer (WAC 296-800-140) and a safety committee at 11 or more employees. Fall protection at 4 feet in construction (WAC 296-880). Year-round outdoor heat rule starting at 80°F (WAC 296-62-095) and a wildfire smoke rule. Weekly crew safety meetings with minutes (WAC 296-155-110). Hospitalizations reported within 8 hours. Its own permissible exposure limits. |
| Oregon | Oregon OSHA | Heat rule at a heat index of 80°F with mandatory rest breaks at 90°F (OAR 437-002-0156), a wildfire smoke rule, and a safety committee or regular safety meetings required of every employer (OAR 437-001-0765). Reporting adds avulsions with bone loss to the 24-hour list. |
| Minnesota | MNOSHA | Written AWAIR program for employers in the industries on its list, which covers most construction trades, manufacturing, trucking and warehousing. Employee Right-to-Know goes beyond HazCom to noise, heat, radiation and infectious agents. A numeric indoor heat standard based on wet-bulb globe temperature. Safety committees at more than 25 employees. |
| Nevada | Nevada OSHA | Construction workers need an OSHA 10-hour card and supervisors an OSHA 30-hour card within 15 days of hire, renewed every 5 years (NRS 618.983 to 618.985). Written safety program for employers with more than 10 employees and a safety committee at more than 25 (NRS 618.383). A heat illness regulation since late 2024 that starts with a written heat hazard analysis for employers with more than 10 employees. |
| Maryland | MOSH | Heat stress standard, indoors and outdoors, from a heat index of 80°F, with a written plan, water, rest and acclimatization (COMAR 09.12.32, since September 2024). |
| Michigan | MIOSHA | Its own standards organized by Part number rather than CFR section, so citations and programs use MIOSHA Part numbers. Power-press injuries reported within 30 days. |
| Virginia | VOSH | A few unique rules: reverse signal operation for backing vehicles and equipment, a 10-foot fall protection trigger in steel erection, and a tree-trimming standard. |
| Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont, Puerto Rico | State agencies | Mostly adopt the federal standards with a short list of state additions and their own reporting phone numbers. Utah reports serious injuries within 8 hours. North Carolina requires a safety and health program and committee for employers with a high experience modifier and 11 or more employees. Check the agency's site for the current list before you bid. |
New York is a public-sector-only plan, so private employers there answer to federal OSHA, but the state legislature has added its own requirements enforced by the state Department of Labor: a workplace violence policy for retail employers, airborne infectious disease plans under the HERO Act, and OSHA 10-hour cards on public works contracts over $250,000 (Labor Law §220-h). New York City adds its own Site Safety Training card requirements through the Department of Buildings. Those are not OSHA rules, and OSHA does not enforce them, but you still have to meet them.
Texas and the other federal states
Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado and the rest of the federal states run on 29 CFR as written, enforced by OSHA area offices. There is no state IIPP requirement, no state heat rule, and no state toolbox-talk schedule. That does not mean less exposure. Federal OSHA cites heat under the general duty clause with a national emphasis program behind it, cites the lack of training under 1926.21(b)(2), and expects the same written programs the specific standards require everywhere: hazard communication, lockout, respirators, confined spaces, silica and the rest.
Every state, federal or plan, has a free, confidential consultation service, funded by OSHA and run by a state agency (in Texas it is OSHCON at the Texas Department of Insurance). They come out, walk your site or shop, tell you what they found, and do not issue citations. The one obligation is that you fix the serious hazards they identify. For a company with no safety staff, it is the best free help there is.
Crews that cross state lines
The rule that applies is the rule where the work is being done, not where your office is. A Texas contractor on a job in Albuquerque is under New Mexico OSHA. A Nevada electrician working in Barstow is under Cal/OSHA for that job and needs the IIPP, the heat plan and the §342 reporting that go with it.
- List the states you work in and mark each one. Federal, state plan, or public-only. The table above is the list.
- Write your programs to the strictest rule you work under, or add a state page. If you work in both Texas and California, a fall protection program written to 6 feet is wrong in California half the time. Either write it to the stricter number everywhere or add a one-page California addendum that the crew actually gets.
- Put the reporting number for each state on the wall and in the foreman's phone. The 8-hour clock in California starts when you know. Nobody has time to look it up.
- Check the training cards the state requires before the crew leaves. Nevada's OSHA 10 and 30, New York City's SST, Cal/OSHA's crane operator certification, and the heat training that several states require before the first day in the heat.
- Pull the permits. California's trench and 36-foot permits take time. Bid them in.
Mistakes that cross the border with you
- A safety manual full of 29 CFR citations handed to a Cal/OSHA inspector who asked for your IIPP.
- Reporting a hospitalization inside 24 hours in a state that wanted it in 8.
- Guardrails at 6 feet in Washington, where the trigger is 4.
- Digging a 6-foot trench in California without the permit.
- A heat plan for outdoor crews only, in a state with an indoor rule, when the shop hits 90°F in August.
- Assuming a public-sector-only state has no rules for private employers. The OSHA rules are federal, but the state labor department still enforces its own laws.
- Thinking federal means lenient. The general duty clause and the training standards get you to the same place; they just do it after the injury instead of before.
One account for federal OSHA and every state plan
29Safety builds your written programs, JHAs and training to the rule that applies where each crew works, with the state's own citation on the page. Add California or Washington to an account and the IIPP, the heat plan and the state reporting numbers come with it.
See exactly what you'd get
The JHA plus a toolbox talk record, an inspection and more, in one PDF: five documents for a jobsite crew, or three for a plant. No watermark.
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Rather have us write it? Two written programs ($295)
Questions we get
Is Texas a state-plan state?
No. Texas is under federal OSHA, and public employees in Texas are not covered by OSHA at all. Private employers follow 29 CFR 1904, 1910 and 1926 as written and report to the nearest OSHA area office. Texas does offer free safety consultation through OSHCON at the Texas Department of Insurance.
Does federal OSHA ever inspect in California?
Rarely. Federal OSHA keeps jurisdiction over federal government workplaces, the Postal Service and some federal enclaves and maritime operations, and it monitors Cal/OSHA's performance. A private contractor or shop in California deals with Cal/OSHA.
My company is based in a federal state but we work in a state-plan state. Which rules apply?
The rules of the state where the work is physically being done. Your written programs, training and reporting have to meet that state's requirements for that job, including things your home state does not require, like California's IIPP or Nevada's OSHA 10 and 30 cards.
Are state-plan rules always stricter?
They can only be the same or stricter; the OSH Act requires a state plan to be at least as effective as federal OSHA. In practice most states adopt the federal standards and add a short list. California, Washington, Oregon and Minnesota have the most additions.
Do I need to rewrite my safety programs for a state-plan state?
Usually you need to add rather than rewrite: the state's citation numbers, any state-required program such as an IIPP or APP, the state's heat and smoke rules where they exist, the state's reporting phone number and deadlines, and any lower trigger heights. A one-page state addendum that the crew actually receives is often enough; a program that contradicts the state rule is not.
Does an OSHA 10 card satisfy the state requirements?
Where a state requires one, yes, if it is the right card: Nevada requires OSHA 10 for construction workers and OSHA 30 for supervisors within 15 days of hire, renewed every 5 years, and New York requires OSHA 10 on public works over $250,000. New York City's Site Safety Training card is a separate, longer requirement. No federal standard requires an OSHA 10 card for anyone, but many general contractors do.
How many states have State Plans approved by OSHA?
29 State Plans in 27 states and 2 territories. 22 cover private employers and public employees: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. 7 cover only state and local government workers: Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each plan is the only one in its state or territory.
Where is the OSHA State Plan map?
OSHA keeps the map and the list at osha.gov/stateplans. The table under "The map: who is where" on this page is the same list in words: the 22 State Plans that cover private employers, the 7 that cover public employees only, and federal OSHA everywhere else.
Not sure how this applies to your work? in the chat, or email safetyteam@29safety.com.