The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2025, with “Fall Protection – General Requirements” topping the list for the 15th straight year.
The preliminary data, revealed during the 2025 NSC Safety Congress & Expo, highlights persistent compliance issues and the need for stronger safety efforts across industries.
The 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards are:
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,914 violations
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 2,546
- Ladders (1926.1053): 2,405
- Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,177
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 1,953
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,907
- Scaffolding (1926.451): 1,905
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 1,826
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,665
- Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,239
“While progress has been made in many workplaces, the consistency in citation rankings year after year signals there is more work ahead,” NSC CEO Lorraine Martin said. “The safety community must intensify our efforts to better protect workers and save lives. We can do this through robust training, updated metrics, high-hazard identification and control implementation, coupled with employee engagement and leadership accountability.”
NSC plans to publish a more in-depth analysis of the Top 10 violations for fiscal year 2025 in the December edition of Safety+Health magazine.