Short answer: you generally have 15 working days from receipt to file an appeal with the Occupational Safety & Health Appeals Board, and an informal conference with Cal/OSHA does not pause that clock. Prompt correction and complete records can matter in either process, but the first step is protecting the filing deadline. Mark it today.
Count 15 working days from receipt. Everything else on this list happens inside that window. If you do only one thing today, it's this.
Each item has a classification that sets the stakes — at 2026 levels: general and regulatory violations up to $16,285 each, serious violations up to $25,000, willful or repeat violations up to $162,851. Missing plan, missing training, and missing log can each be cited separately.
This is a meeting to discuss the citation, its classification, abatement, and the proposed penalty. Request it early if appropriate, because it must fit inside the appeal window — it does not extend it.
Abatement is usually required whether or not you appeal, and dated proof of fixes strengthens every conversation — informal or formal.
The citation, your written plan, training records, violent incident log, hazard corrections, investigation notes — plus a simple index of what was requested and produced during the inspection.
Appealing preserves your options; missing the deadline makes the citation final. If penalties are significant or a "repeat" classification is in play, get advice before the window closes — a first citation quietly becomes a multiplier on the next one.
Is this the moment for a lawyer? For a small general citation you promptly fixed, maybe not. For serious or willful classifications, multiple items, an injury in the background, or anything that could tag you as a repeat violator — yes, and before the informal conference, not after. This is the situation where employers most often bring in help — and where the deadline math argues for doing it early.
The Appeals Board's own instructions and deadlines.
Certified referral services if you don't already have counsel.
What compliance is supposed to look like — useful for your abatement plan.