Data last updated: September 07, 2026
North Dakota only logged three ladder citations under 1926.1053 in the past 12 months. That small number can be misleading. One of those three citations, against a Bismarck contractor, carried a $21,281 penalty because it was classified as a Repeat violation. The average penalty across all three cases was $8,683, and the median was $3,405 — a wide gap that tells you these citations are not treated the same way twice.
If you or your company just received a ladder citation in North Dakota, the dollar amount on the page is rarely the final word. Before you decide how to respond, it makes sense to talk with a North Dakota OSHA defense attorney about what your specific citation means and what your options are.
What the ladder standard actually requires on your jobsite
The rule behind all three of these cases, 1926.1053, sets the baseline expectations for ladder use on construction sites. It covers how a ladder has to be set up and secured, how far it needs to extend past a landing point when workers are climbing on and off a roof or platform, how much weight it has to be rated to carry, and what happens when a ladder shows damage — cracked rails, missing rungs, worn feet — that makes it unsafe to keep using. It also addresses how ladders are supposed to be used day-to-day: no standing on the top rungs, no using the wrong class of ladder for the job, no leaning ladders at unsafe angles. You can review the full breakdown of what inspectors check on the 1926.1053 standard hub.
Inspectors do not need a worker to fall for a citation to issue. A damaged ladder sitting on-site, a ladder set up without proper footing, or a worker observed standing above the top-rated step is enough on its own. That is exactly why a small state like North Dakota can still generate citations with penalties in the tens of thousands.
Roofing work is driving most of North Dakota’s ladder cases
Of the three citations issued statewide, two went to roofing contractors and one went to a general structural contractor. That lines up with what you would expect: roofing crews spend more time on ladders, more time transitioning on and off rooflines, and more time working at heights where a ladder extension or footing problem turns into a serious hazard. If you run a roofing operation in North Dakota, it is worth reading how roofing contractors nationally get cited under this standard so you know what inspectors are specifically looking for before they show up.
Bismarck was the city with the most activity in this data set, tied to two of the three citations. That is not necessarily a sign of a stricter local office — it likely reflects where roofing and construction activity has been concentrated over the reporting period. Fargo also appears in the record, showing that this is not limited to one metro area.
What these ladder citations actually cost in North Dakota
The three citations on record break down as two Serious violations and one Repeat violation. That distinction matters more than most contractors realize. A Serious citation reflects a hazard that could reasonably cause death or serious injury — the standard tier most ladder citations fall into. A Repeat citation means OSHA found the same or a substantially similar violation had already been cited at that company before, and the penalty formula punishes that history hard.
You can see the spread in the real examples from this data:
- Lolandiz Construction, LLC (Bismarck) — $21,281, classified as Repeat, cited under subsection 19261053 B01, issued December 12, 2025.
- Precision Concrete Cutters, Inc. (Fargo) — $3,405, classified as Serious, cited under subsection 19261053 B04, issued January 26, 2026.
- High Point Roofing LLC (Bismarck) — $1,362, classified as Serious, cited under subsection 19261053 B01, issued April 28, 2026.
Notice how much daylight there is between the smallest fine ($1,362) and the largest ($21,281) — all stemming from the same underlying standard. The Repeat classification alone accounts for roughly 15 times the penalty of the smallest Serious case. For more on how OSHA calculates these figures and where negotiation room typically exists, see how OSHA ladder violation penalties are set. Statewide, the average penalty ended up reduced by about 13% from the initial amount to the final settled figure, which shows that these numbers are rarely fixed in stone once a case is actually contested or negotiated.
If a Repeat or Serious tag is sitting on your citation right now, the dollar figure you were handed is very likely not the number you have to pay. Getting a North Dakota OSHA defense attorney involved early is how that 13% reduction — or a bigger one — actually gets negotiated.
The clock that starts the day you open the citation
Once OSHA delivers a citation, you have exactly 15 working days to file a Notice of Contest. That is not a soft deadline. Miss it, and the citation and the penalty become a final order automatically, even if you had a legitimate defense you never got the chance to raise. Weekends and federal holidays do not count toward those 15 days, which means the window closes faster than most people expect once you factor in the time it takes to even get the case in front of someone who can advise you.
This is also the point where the Repeat classification on a citation like the Bismarck case becomes worth scrutinizing closely. Repeat status depends on whether the prior citation was genuinely similar, within the applicable lookback period, and correctly documented — all things that can be challenged. The process for doing that, and what happens after you file, is laid out in this guide to contesting an OSHA citation.
Given how little time you have, and how much a Repeat or Serious label can swing the final number, the smart move is to get a second set of eyes on your citation before that 15-day window closes. Talk to a North Dakota OSHA defense attorney now, while you still have options on the table, rather than after the citation has already become final.
Pull out your citation, check the date it was issued, and count forward — that is your real deadline, not a suggestion. Whether your penalty looks like the $1,362 end of this range or the $21,281 end, the classification attached to it is what will decide your final bill, and that classification is exactly what an attorney can push back on before the window closes.