Wyoming — Workplace Safety

Wyoming operates an OSHA-approved state plan that covers most private-sector employers and all state and local government workers. The Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Wyoming OSHA), part of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, administers the state plan under the Wyoming Occupational Health and Safety Act (Wyo. Stat. § 27-11-101 et seq.). The state plan received final federal approval on June 27, 1985. Federal OSHA retains jurisdiction over federal employees, the U.S. Postal Service and USPS contract operations, employment at Warren Air Force Base and both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, private-sector maritime operations, certain agricultural operations (field sanitation and temporary labor camps), employment at the U.S. Department of Energy's Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserve in Casper, and employment at private-sector hazardous-waste disposal facilities designated as Superfund sites.

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 1952.18 | Wyoming State Plan | Wyoming OSHA

Wyoming OSHA has adopted the federal recordkeeping and reporting requirements under 29 C.F.R. Part 1904 identically, with no state-specific variations. This means Wyoming employers follow the same rules as employers in states under direct federal OSHA jurisdiction for recording work-related injuries and illnesses and reporting severe incidents.

Recording obligations — employers with more than 10 employees

Most employers with more than 10 employees must maintain records of work-related injuries and illnesses using three standardized forms: the OSHA 300 Log (ongoing record of all recordable injuries and illnesses), the OSHA 300A Summary (annual summary posted February 1–April 30 each year), and the OSHA 301 Incident Report (detailed record of each individual case). Certain low-hazard industries listed in 29 C.F.R. § 1904.2 are exempt from routine recordkeeping even if they exceed 10 employees, though all employers remain subject to the immediate reporting requirements described below.

An injury or illness is recordable under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.7 if it is work-related and results in one or more of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or licensed health care professional. OSHA defines medical treatment to exclude first aid (e.g., using non-prescription medications at non-prescription strength, administering tetanus immunizations, cleaning or bandaging wounds, using hot or cold therapy, using non-rigid means of support). Physical therapy and chiropractic treatment are considered medical treatment, not first aid, and therefore trigger recordability if the underlying injury is work-related.

Immediate reporting of fatalities and severe injuries — applies to ALL employers

Every employer covered by Wyoming OSHA — including those with 10 or fewer employees and those in exempt industries — must report certain severe incidents directly to Wyoming OSHA. Under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39:

• Fatalities: Employers must report any work-related employee death within 8 hours if the death occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident.

• In-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and eye losses: Employers must report any work-related in-patient hospitalization (formal admission to a hospital or clinic, not emergency-room-only treatment), any amputation (traumatic loss of all or part of a limb or external body part, including fingertip amputations with or without bone loss), or any loss of an eye within 24 hours if the event occurs within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

Employers may report by telephone or in person to the Wyoming OSHA office nearest to the site of the incident, or by using OSHA's online reporting portal. The 8-hour and 24-hour clocks begin when the employer or any agent of the employer learns of the incident.

Exceptions to immediate reporting

Wyoming employers do not have to report a fatality, hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss if the incident occurred on a public street or highway (unless it occurred in a construction work zone) or if it occurred on a commercial or public transportation system (airplane, train, subway, bus). However, these incidents must still be recorded on the employer's OSHA 300 Log if the employer is otherwise required to keep injury and illness records.

Annual summary posting

Employers required to keep OSHA injury and illness records must post the completed OSHA 300A Summary in a conspicuous location where employees can view it from February 1 through April 30 of the year following the calendar year covered by the form (e.g., the 2025 summary must be posted February 1–April 30, 2026). This posting requirement ensures employee awareness of workplace injury and illness patterns.

Source: 29 C.F.R. Part 1904 | 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39 | Wyoming OSHA State Plan

Federal baseline — penalty levels as reference point: As of January 16, 2024, federal OSHA maximum civil penalties are:

• $16,131 per violation for serious, other-than-serious, and posting violations;
• $16,131 per day for failure to abate; and
• $161,323 per violation for willful or repeated violations.

These federal amounts are updated annually based on inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. (Source: see OSHA Penalties page for specific effective dates.)

Wyoming requirements — state plan parity: Wyoming operates a federally approved state OSHA plan, and as a requirement of that approval, must implement penalty levels "at least as effective as" the federal OSHA standards. The authority for setting penalty amounts is granted by Wyo. Stat. § 27-11-107, but the actual, current Wyoming penalty amounts are set by regulation and subject to periodic adjustment.

Wyoming penalty levels — lack of public confirmation: While the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services proposed adoption of federal OSHA penalty levels by reference in 2019—setting state maximums to match federal figures at that time—there is no published Wyoming statutory, regulatory, or agency source confirming the current, effective penalty amounts as of June 2026, nor confirming routine adoption of federal inflation adjustments. Neither the Wyoming OSHA website nor the state's published regulations report up-to-date penalty dollar values for serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations. Thus, the precise maximum penalty that Wyoming OSHA may assess in 2026 is not confirmed in public state authority.

Summary: The most reliably published figures are the current federal OSHA penalty levels, but practitioners should be aware that Wyoming's effective penalty limits may differ unless and until the state publishes official confirmation of parity. As of June 2026, there is no Wyoming .gov source or published state regulation confirming the exact penalty amounts currently in effect.

Source: OSHA Penalties (federal) | Wyo. Stat. § 27-11-107 | OSHA Wyoming State Plan

Wyoming does not give employees a general right to walk off the job simply because they believe conditions are unsafe. Under Wyoming regulations, the contours of an employee’s right to refuse work are sharply limited.

No general walk-off right:

053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 7-7(a)(i) states, “there is no right afforded by the act…which would entitle employees to walk off the job because of potential unsafe conditions.” This means employees cannot leave their worksite solely based on their own belief that conditions are unsafe, absent satisfaction of the specific legal prerequisites.

Exception for imminent danger — specific, narrow requirements:

Protection applies only when all of the following are true (per 053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 7-7(a)(ii)):

• A reasonable person, under the circumstances, would conclude that the working condition presents a real danger of death or serious injury;
• There is insufficient time to have the condition corrected through regular enforcement channels, such as requesting an OSHA inspection;
• Where possible, the employee sought correction from their employer before refusal.

If these criteria are all met and the employee in good faith refuses to expose themselves to the danger, the state regulations protect the worker from discrimination or retaliation for that refusal. If any element is missing, the protection does not apply, and ordinary disciplinary standards govern.

This rule is tightly drawn for true emergency situations. Routine or speculative concerns about workplace safety, even if sincerely held, do not trigger the right to refuse under Wyoming law.

Source: 053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 7-7(a)

When a Wyoming OSHA compliance officer arrives to perform a workplace inspection, employer obligations and rights are set under both Wyoming state law and federal OSHA procedural standards, as incorporated by reference. Wyoming is a state-plan state, but inspection process closely tracks the federal model, following the contours of 29 C.F.R. Part 1903 as adopted by Wyoming regulations.

Right to Accompany the Inspector The employer (or their authorized representative) has the right to accompany the Wyoming OSHA compliance officer during the physical inspection of the workplace. Employees also have the right to designate a representative to accompany the officer. The employer may limit accompaniment to those with safety or health responsibilities, but cannot interfere with the right. (053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 2-6; 29 C.F.R. § 1903.8 as incorporated).

Document Review Inspectors are authorized to review relevant logs, programs, and documents, such as OSHA 300 injury/illness logs, written safety programs, hazard assessments, training records, and potentially other documents required under specific standards. The employer must promptly provide access to these records. Failure to do so may be cited as a violation. (053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 2-7(c); 29 C.F.R. § 1903.3 and § 1904.40).

Employee Interviews The compliance officer may conduct private interviews with employees. The employer may not be present for these interviews unless the employee requests it. Inspectors also typically interview supervisors or management, but these are not confidential from the employer. (053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 2-7(a); 29 C.F.R. § 1903.7(b)).

Employer Right to Refuse Entry or Obtain a Warrant Under both Wyoming and federal law, an employer generally may refuse entry to a compliance officer if the inspector does not have a warrant. However, if entry is refused, Wyoming OSHA may seek an inspection warrant from the appropriate court. Refusal to cooperate after warrant issuance can result in additional penalties. (053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 2-5(b); 29 C.F.R. § 1903.4).

Summary

• The employer may accompany the inspection but not obstruct it.
• Required records must be provided upon request.
• Employee interviews may be held privately.
• Entry may be refused pending a warrant, but this typically only delays, not prevents, the inspection.

Source: 053-7 Wyo. Code R. § 2 | 29 C.F.R. Part 1903

Employers in Wyoming must display the official Wyoming Labor Law Poster, which includes required OSHA/state job safety information, "in a conspicuous location frequented by employees and applicants for employment." This poster is published and provided free of charge by the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS).

State-specific requirement: Wyoming operates an OSHA-approved state plan, and the state OSHA posting requirement is met by displaying the Wyoming-specific labor law poster. Wyoming DWS confirms that employers do not need to purchase posters—“All required Wyoming Labor Law Posters can be downloaded and printed at no cost, or picked up at any Workforce Center throughout the state. Anyone requiring payment for labor law posters is not an official government source.”

What the poster contains: The official bundled poster includes information on occupational safety and health (Wyoming OSHA), workers’ compensation, state minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and more. DWS does not require separate posting of the federal OSHA workplace safety poster for Wyoming employers covered by the state plan; displaying the Wyoming poster satisfies the requirement.

Where to obtain the poster: Employers may download printable posters directly from the DWS website or pick up printed copies for free at any Wyoming Workforce Center. DWS warns against paying commercial vendors for these posters.

As of June 2026, there are no published Wyoming authority sources stating any posting exemptions for most private-sector Wyoming employers.

Source: Wyoming Department of Workforce Services—Labor Law Poster requirements