Data last updated: September 28, 2026
Wyoming issued just two ladder violation citations under 1926.1053 in the past 12 months, but both landed on roofing contractors in Cheyenne, both were classified Serious, and both carried a penalty right around the state average of $1,596. One of them, against Lopez Roofing, came in well above average at $3,192. In a state with low overall citation volume, that concentration in one city and one trade is not a coincidence.
If you run a roofing crew in Wyoming and OSHA has just handed you paperwork, the clock is already running. Talk to a Wyoming OSHA defense attorney before you decide how to respond.
What 1926.1053 Actually Requires On A Wyoming Roof Job
The standard behind every one of these citations, 1926.1053, governs the basics of ladder use on a construction site: how the ladder has to be set up, how far it must extend past a landing point, what load it needs to hold, and whether it’s been inspected and kept free of damage before someone climbs it. None of this is exotic. Compliance officers are looking at whether the ladder extends roughly three feet above the roof edge or landing, whether the feet are secure and the angle is right, whether the rungs and rails are intact, and whether workers are using the ladder the way it was designed to be used rather than improvising with it.
These are the kinds of details that get missed on fast-moving residential jobs, especially when a crew is racing weather or a deadline. That’s exactly the pattern showing up in Wyoming’s numbers: small crews, steep roofs, and ladders that either don’t reach far enough past the eave or have been patched together one season too long.
Why Cheyenne Roofing Crews Are Wyoming’s Enforcement Target
Every ladder citation issued in Wyoming over the past year went to a roofing contractor, and Cheyenne is the city with the most activity. That’s not surprising when you look at the nature of the work. Roofing involves constant ladder access to elevated surfaces, frequent repositioning as the crew moves around a structure, and equipment that takes a beating from being loaded, unloaded, and dragged across job sites all season. A ladder that was fine in April can be a liability by August.
Wyoming’s total citation count is small compared to bigger construction states, but that doesn’t mean enforcement is light. It means OSHA’s attention in this state is narrowly focused, and right now that focus is on roofing. If you’re in that trade and operating in or around Cheyenne, you should assume your crew’s ladder setup is more likely to draw a look than almost any other type of construction work in the state.
What A Serious Ladder Citation Costs In Wyoming
Both Wyoming citations in this period were classified Serious, the mid-tier violation category that applies when a hazard could realistically cause death or significant injury. Serious citations don’t carry the steep multipliers of Willful or Repeat violations, but they are still real money, and Wyoming’s own numbers show a $1,596 average and identical $1,596 median penalty — meaning these two citations were close together, not skewed by one outlier.
Lopez Roofing’s citation in Cheyenne, issued February 25, 2026 under 19261053 B01, came in at $3,192 — exactly double the state average. That gap matters. It tells you these penalty amounts aren’t fixed by a simple formula; they move based on the specific conditions cited, the size of the employer, and how the citation was written up. Also worth knowing: the average penalty reduction after negotiation or contest in Wyoming during this period was 0%. Unlike some states where initial penalties routinely get talked down, Wyoming’s numbers show citations largely holding at their original amount once issued. That makes getting the response right the first time even more important. For a fuller breakdown of how these numbers are calculated and where they come from, see this explanation of OSHA ladder violation penalty amounts.
A $1,596 to $3,192 penalty might not sound like it threatens a business, but stack a few of these across a season, add the reputational hit of a citation on the public record, and factor in that a second citation for the same hazard can be reclassified as Repeat with a penalty many times higher. That’s the real cost curve, and it’s the reason it’s worth getting a Wyoming OSHA defense attorney to look at your citation before you accept it as final.
Your 15-Day Window After A Citation Arrives
Once OSHA issues a citation, you have 15 working days to file a Notice of Contest. Miss that window and the citation, along with the full penalty, becomes a final order automatically — no hearing, no negotiation, no second look. That deadline doesn’t pause for a busy roofing season or for time spent trying to figure out your options on your own.
Given that Wyoming’s data shows essentially no reduction in penalties after the fact, contesting early or negotiating directly with the area office before the deadline may be your best real chance to change the outcome. The process for doing this is specific, and it starts with understanding how to contest an OSHA citation correctly and on time.
If you’ve received a citation in Cheyenne or anywhere else in Wyoming, don’t sit on it while the 15 working days run out. Get a Wyoming OSHA defense attorney reviewing your citation now, while you still have options on the table.
Pull your written citation, check the issuance date, and count forward to your contest deadline today — that single number determines whether you still have leverage or whether the penalty is about to become permanent.