Data last updated: August 31, 2026
Over the past 12 months, North Carolina employers picked up 44 citations under OSHA’s ladder standard, 1926.1053. The average penalty landed at $1,578, with a median of $1,000 — meaning half of all cases came in under that mark, but a number of them ran considerably higher. Raleigh generated more of these citations than any other city in the state, and framing contractors accounted for well over half of all cases statewide.
If you’re holding a citation right now, the clock is already running. Talk to a North Carolina OSHA defense attorney before you decide how to respond — the deadline to formally push back is shorter than most people expect.
What 1926.1053 Actually Demands on a Jobsite
The standard behind every one of these 44 citations, 1926.1053, governs the everyday mechanics of ladder use on a construction site. It requires that portable ladders extend a set distance above the landing they’re used to access, that they’re rated to hold the workers and materials placed on them, that damaged or compromised ladders get pulled from service rather than patched together for one more use, and that workers actually use the ladder the way it’s designed to be used — not as a shortcut around scaffolding or a substitute for proper fall protection.
These aren’t obscure technical requirements. Inspectors can spot a ladder problem from across a site: the top rail flush with the roofline instead of extending past it, a rung crushed under too much weight, a fiberglass side rail cracked from a fall. That visibility is part of why ladder violations show up so often in general inspections, even ones that started out looking at something else entirely.
Framing and Roofing Crews Are Where Inspectors Look First
The industry breakdown in North Carolina is lopsided. Framing contractors alone picked up 25 of the state’s 44 citations — well over half. Roofing contractors followed with 13, and siding contractors added another 3. Together, these three trades account for nearly every ladder citation issued in the state over the period.
That concentration makes sense once you think about the work itself. Framing and roofing crews spend most of their day climbing on and off structures that don’t have permanent stairs or elevators yet — extension ladders and step ladders are the primary way workers reach upper floors, roof edges, and eaves. More ladder time means more exposure to citation, especially on fast-moving residential jobs where a crew might reposition a ladder a dozen times in a single day and cut corners on setup to keep pace.
Real North Carolina Cases and What They Were Cited For
Of the 44 citations, 43 were classified as Serious, and one carried a Repeat designation — a distinction that matters because Repeat citations reflect a violation OSHA has already flagged at that employer before, and they typically draw a steeper penalty as a result. A handful of recent, publicly recorded examples show how this plays out in dollar terms:
- Guillermo Salvador Lorenzo in Beaufort was cited under subsection B16 for a Serious violation, issued January 7, 2026, with a penalty of $4,965.
- A-D’S Metal Roofing Company LLC in Beaufort received a nearly identical Serious citation under B16 on January 22, 2026, also penalized at $4,965.
- TR Construction NC LLC in Angier was cited under B13 as a Repeat violation on October 20, 2025, with a $4,200 penalty.
- S. F. Ballou, Inc. in Beaufort was fined $3,972 for a Serious B16 violation issued January 8, 2026.
- Carpinteros Asociados LLC in Apex was cited under B13 for a Serious violation on November 21, 2025, at $3,310.
Notice how far above the statewide average of $1,578 each of these lands. Multiple violations on a single ladder — extension length, load rating, condition — or a prior citation on record can push a penalty well past the median in a hurry.
What a Citation Actually Costs You in North Carolina
The dollar figure on the citation letter is rarely the final word. Statewide data shows North Carolina employers who contested or negotiated their citations saw penalties reduced by an average of 9% between the initial notice and final resolution. That’s not a dramatic swing, but on a $4,965 citation it’s still real money, and it reflects that these figures are not always fixed once OSHA issues them.
What does change the math significantly is classification. A Serious violation like most of the 43 cited here reflects OSHA’s judgment that the hazard could cause death or serious physical harm. A Repeat finding, like the one in Angier, signals that the same employer had a comparable violation on record already — and that history alone can multiply the base penalty several times over. Understanding how OSHA calculates ladder violation penalties helps explain why two citations for what looks like a similar setup issue can carry very different price tags.
Before you accept a number on a citation letter as final, it’s worth getting an opinion from someone who reviews these regularly. A North Carolina OSHA defense attorney can tell you within a short conversation whether your citation is one worth contesting, and what that process would realistically look like.
The 15-Day Window You Can’t Afford to Miss
Once a citation is issued, OSHA gives the employer 15 working days to file a Notice of Contest. That’s a hard deadline — not a suggestion — and it runs from the date you receive the citation, not the date it was issued. Miss it, and the citation and penalty become final, even if you had a legitimate defense or a documentation error you never got the chance to raise.
Fifteen working days sounds like a reasonable amount of time until you factor in gathering site records, photos, training logs, and witness statements while still running your business day to day. The process for contesting an OSHA citation involves specific procedural steps, and getting any part of it wrong can cost you the right to challenge the citation at all.
Given the average 9% reduction seen statewide, and given that some of these North Carolina citations run past $4,900, waiting to see if the problem resolves itself is not a strategy. If you’ve just received a ladder citation in North Carolina, or you suspect one is coming after a recent inspection, get in touch with a North Carolina OSHA defense attorney now, while you still have the full 15 working days to act on it.
Pull your citation paperwork, note the exact date you received it, and start that conversation today — the deadline doesn’t pause while you decide what to do next.