Cal/OSHA opened an accident inspection at General Dynamics NASSCO, 2798 E Harbor Drive, San Diego, on February 24, 2026. Citations issued July 10, 2026. Combined initial and current proposed penalties: $421,350. DIR’s list of inspections with initial penalties of $100,000 or above records Inspection 1876604. OSHA’s public inspection detail shows the case OPEN. Latest event on each item: issued — the public record I pulled does not show a contest date. That can change. Do not treat it as a final Board order.
The public inspection record does not publish a narrative of the accident. Do not invent one. Here is what the citation table actually lists.
What Cal/OSHA issued
OSHA establishment search, Inspection 1876604.015, NAICS 336611 (Ship Building and Repairing), San Diego District Office, union shop, partial accident inspection, outdoor-heat emphasis. Seven items:
- Repeat, Title 8 §14001(a) — $1,000. Employer’s report of occupational injury or illness (Form 5020): every employer must file a complete report of every occupational injury or illness that results in lost time beyond the date of injury or that requires medical treatment beyond first aid.
- Serious, Title 8 §3328(a)(2) — $25,000. Machinery and equipment shall not be used or operated under speeds, stresses, loads, or environmental conditions contrary to the manufacturer’s recommendations or, where those are not available, the engineered design.
- Serious, Title 8 §5031(a) — $25,000. A qualified person shall visually inspect the crane’s or derrick’s controls, rigging, and operating mechanism before first operation on any work shift. Unsafe conditions get corrected; defective components that create an imminent hazard get replaced, repaired, or adjusted before use.
- Serious, Title 8 §5049(f) — $22,500. Special custom-design grabs, hooks, clamps, or other lifting accessories shall be marked with the safe working load and proof-tested to 125 percent of the rated load before use.
- Repeat, Title 8 §3203(a) — $50,000. Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
- Willful, Title 8 §5002(a) — $135,000. Overhead loads: operations shall be conducted and the job controlled so employees are not exposed to overhead loads. Where loads must pass directly over workers, occupied work spaces, or occupied passageways, safety-type hooks or equivalent means of preventing disengagement are required.
- Willful, Title 8 §5042(a)(9) — $162,850. Safe sling operating practices: all employees shall be kept clear of loads about to be lifted and of suspended loads (see §5002).
Initial split on the public table: serious $72,500, willful $297,850, repeat $51,000. Current penalties match initials. That is unusual. Most shops settle down. This one has not — yet.
What the labels mean
Serious (Title 8 §334(c); Labor Code §6432): a rebuttable presumption if Cal/OSHA shows a realistic possibility that death or serious physical harm could result from the actual hazard. The employer can rebut by showing it did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have known, of the violation.
Repeat (Title 8 §334(d)): a later citation of a substantially similar requirement within five years of the prior citation becoming final.
Willful (Title 8 §334(e)): an intentional and knowing violation, or knowledge of an unsafe condition with no reasonable effort to eliminate it. Two of the seven items carry that label. Combined they are $297,850 of the $421,350.
DIR’s $100,000-and-above list is explicit: penalties may later be reduced, reclassified, or deleted by an ALJ or a settlement. Click the inspection number for the live OSHA record.
What you can do next
- Get the inspection file. Public Records Act, Government Code Division 10 (commencing with §7920.000). Ten-day determination clock, optional 14-day extension: Government Code §7922.535. Identify General Dynamics NASSCO, Inspection 1876604, 2798 E Harbor Drive, San Diego, opened February 24, 2026, citations July 10, 2026. Ask for citations, the inspection report, photographs, and appeal status. OSHA public page: inspection 1876604.015.
- File a Cal/OSHA complaint if the hazard is still on the yard. Anyone can file. You do not need the Title 8 section. You do need enough detail to find it: employer, building or ship, crane or sling, who is under the load. San Diego District Office, or the zip-code locator. Workers: 833-579-0927, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, live bilingual representative. Your name is confidential unless you ask to be named.
- Retaliation is a different filing. Labor Code §6310 (complaints, safety committee, injury reports, injury records). Labor Code §6311 (refusal of work that would violate a safety order and create a real and apparent hazard). File with the Labor Commissioner under §§6312 and 98.7 — one year from the retaliatory act. Concurrent federal OSHA whistleblower: 30 days. Call 833-526-4636.
FAQs
The public OSHA page does not describe the accident. Can I fill that in from rumor? No. The inspection type is Accident. Related activity number 2393202. That is all the public table gives. Pull the file.
If NASSCO has not contested yet, are the citations final? An employer has 15 working days from receipt to appeal. OSHA’s table currently shows “Z – Issued,” not “C – Contested.” Confirm the live record before you treat any item as final.
Sources
DIR Inspections with Initial Penalties of $100,000 or Above: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/statistics/Penalties-100K.html (Inspection 1876604, citation issuance 07/10/2026, $421,350). OSHA inspection detail: https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=1876604.015. Title 8 §§334, 14001, 3203, 3328, 5002, 5031, 5042, 5049. Labor Code §§6310, 6311, 6312, 6319, 6432, 98.7. Government Code §§7920.000–7931.000, 7922.535. Complaint: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/Complaint.htm. District locator: https://www.dir.ca.gov/asp/doshzipsearch.html. PRA: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/pra-Requests.html. OSHAB: https://www.dir.ca.gov/OSHAB/oshabappealpro.html.
*Educational use only — not legal advice, not a filing, and not a final-order finding. Proposed penalties can change on appeal. Verify current statute and docket status before you act.*
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