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Every federal OSHA number in this library is a floor. In 21 states and Puerto Rico it is not the number you get cited under, and on the rules named below the state number is meaningfully different.

A resource from RocketLevel for restoration company owners and safety leads, backed by decades of experience in the trade. About a 30-minute read top to bottom, built to be used as a reference: find your state and read that part.

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Reviewed October 2026. OSHA standards and state plan rules change, and they vary by state. Use this page to know what to ask, then confirm with your state agency or a construction attorney before you rely on it.

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The states and territories listed below run their own approved OSHA plans. Everywhere else, federal OSHA is the enforcing agency. An approved state plan has to be at least as effective as the federal program, never less. That phrase sets a minimum and nothing more, so the practical question for a restoration contractor is which of the rules you actually work under moved, and by how much.

This page is the overlay. It names the plans, then names the specific rules where a state owes you more than the federal text says, with the state citation. It skips any difference that does not change what a restoration crew does on a job.

• 📑 Jump to a section

Step 1: Name the agency that would cite you

Before anything else, settle which body has jurisdiction over your crews, because that decides which rule book you build to.

The 22 plans covering private-sector employers (this is the list that matters to a restoration contractor; state rules as of October 2026): Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. If you operate in one of these, the state agency inspects you and the state standard is the one on the citation, with one seam to know about. Federal OSHA keeps jurisdiction over some worksites inside State Plan states, including federal enclaves such as military installations. If a job is on federal property, confirm which agency covers it before the crew mobilizes.

The seven plans covering state and local government employees only: Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A private restoration contractor in these seven answers to federal OSHA for its own crews. Watch the seam anyway. When you take public work in one of them, a school district or a municipal contract can pull the state public-employee requirements into the contract terms even though the state plan does not reach you directly. Read the safety exhibit before you sign, not after.

Everywhere else, federal OSHA is your enforcing agency. Confirm the current list at OSHA's State Plans page before you rely on it.

Record this: Enforcing agency for our primary territory: · Additional states we deploy to: · Date last confirmed against osha.gov/stateplans:

Step 2: The overlays that change a restoration instruction

These are the differences confirmed against the state's own text (state rules as of October 2026). Each one changes what a crew does on the job, beyond which paragraph number gets typed on a form.

Heat, the largest gap, because federal has no standard at all

There is no federal heat standard in force. The proposed rule published August 30, 2024 is still not final, so outside a heat state your only federal duty is the General Duty Clause. Inside one, there are numbers.

• California, indoor. 8 CCR 3396 took effect July 23, 2024 and applies to indoor work areas at 82°F or above. The exceptions are narrow: telework at a location the employee chooses, emergency operations to protect life or property, some government detention facilities, and incidental exposure between 82°F and 95°F lasting less than 15 minutes in any 60 minutes. That last one does not cover a vehicle without working air conditioning or a shipping container being loaded or unloaded. Full control measures kick in at 87°F, or at the 87°F heat index, or at 82°F when employees wear clothing that restricts heat removal or work in a high radiant heat area. A crew in Tyvek inside an unconditioned building at 83°F is inside the full standard, not the light version. You owe a cool-down area held below 82°F, engineering controls attempted first, and a written plan in English and in the language most of the crew speaks.
• California, outdoor. 8 CCR 3395 requires shade whenever the temperature exceeds 80°F, one quart of water per employee per hour, high-heat procedures at 95°F, and close observation of a newly assigned employee for the first 14 days.