What Your Contractor's Safety Grade Really Means (A–F Explained)

A single letter for a complicated record

A contractor's OSHA record is dozens of inspections, hundreds of citations, multiple categories, and varying penalty amounts. A homeowner doesn't need a compliance report — they need a decision. The contractor safety grade condenses the OSHA record into a single A–F letter you can read in two seconds.

Here's exactly what each grade means.

What goes into the grade

The grade weights five factors:

1. Citation type mix. Willful and Repeat citations weigh heavily. Serious citations weigh moderately. Other-than-Serious barely registers.
2. Penalty totals. Total OSHA dollar amounts assessed across the inspection history.
3. Recency. A 2024 citation matters more than a 2014 one. Old records decay.
4. Inspection volume. A contractor with 30 inspections and one Serious is judged differently than one with 2 inspections and one Serious.
5. Peer benchmark. The raw score is converted into a percentile against other contractors in the same NAICS trade and the same state. A roofer is compared to roofers, not to general contractors.

How to read each grade

A — Top 10% of peers

The contractor's OSHA inspection history is materially cleaner than the median for their trade and state. Either no significant violations, or violations are old and not repeated. Hire with confidence on safety grounds.

B — Above-average safety record

Some citations exist, but the mix is dominated by Serious or Other-than-Serious (not Willful/Repeat), and the contractor's score is in the upper third of peers. Worth asking about the top citation, but generally a green light.

C — Median

The contractor's safety record looks like the average contractor in their trade and state. That's not a deal-breaker — half of every trade is at or below the median. Ask about the worst citations and how the company changed practices afterward.

D — Below-average

Below the median peer benchmark. Usually a pattern of Serious citations, or a smaller number of Willful or Repeat citations. This is the grade that should prompt a real safety conversation before signing.

F — Bottom 10%

Either heavy Willful/Repeat citation history, large total penalties, recent fatalities, or all of the above. A red-flag grade. We're not telling you not to hire — we're telling you to ask hard questions and consider alternatives.

What an "Insufficient data" tag means

We don't grade contractors with too few inspections to score reliably. A small operator below OSHA reporting thresholds may simply not have a record. Insufficient data is not a passing grade — it just means the contractor OSHA record is too thin to grade.

Why we benchmark by trade and state

Roofing and electrical contractors have very different baseline citation rates than landscaping companies. Comparing across trades produces misleading grades. Same with states — OSHA enforcement intensity varies. We benchmark to the relevant peer set so the grade reflects relative safety, not industry baseline.

Want to see a real grade? Look up any contractor for free. For more on the underlying OSHA categories, read understanding OSHA violation types.