Improve Workplace Safety by Avoiding These 10 OSHA Violations

Fall protection topped OSHA's most-cited violations list for the 15th consecutive year in fiscal year 2025. That is not a coincidence. It reflects a persistent failure of employer systems, training, and enforcement, not a mystery about which hazards matter most.

In fiscal year 2024, OSHA conducted more than 30,000 federal inspections. The agency recovered significant penalties across all industries, and the maximum fines increased again in January 2025. Understanding which violations OSHA cites most often, and what each one means for your organization, is the starting point for keeping your workforce safe and your business compliant.

What are OSHA violations?

An OSHA violation occurs when an employer fails to meet a standard established under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Violations range from technical paperwork failures to conditions that create an immediate risk of death.

OSHA categorizes violations into six types:

• De minimis: Minor infractions with no direct or immediate impact on health or safety. No penalty issued.
• Other-than-serious: Infractions that affect safety or health but are unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. Penalties up to $16,550 per violation in 2025.
• Serious: Violations where there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard. Maximum penalty: $16,550 per violation.
• Willful: Violations where the employer intentionally disregarded the law or demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety. Maximum penalty: $165,514 per violation in 2025.
• Repeated: Violations where an employer has been cited previously for a substantially similar condition. Maximum penalty: $165,514 per violation.
• Failure to abate: Not correcting a previously cited violation by the set deadline. Penalty up to $16,550 per day beyond the abatement date.

Penalty amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. The 2025 figures reflect OSHA's January 15, 2025 penalty adjustment, which increased maximum penalties by approximately 2.6% from 2024 levels.

OSHA's top 10 most cited violations in fiscal year 2024

These are the ten standards cited most frequently by federal OSHA inspectors in fiscal year 2024, according to OSHA's official top 10 cited standards list. They appear every year because the underlying hazards are real, recurring, and preventable.

1. Fall protection, general requirements (29 CFR 1926.501): 6,307 citations in FY2024. The most cited standard for 15 consecutive years. Applies to construction work at heights of six feet or more.
2. Hazard communication (29 CFR 1910.1200): 2,888 citations. Requires employers to maintain safety data sheets, label chemicals properly, and train employees on chemical hazards.
3. Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147): Requires procedures for controlling the unexpected release of energy during equipment servicing. Failures here cause severe injuries and fatalities.
4. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053): Applies to portable ladders used in construction. Common violations include damaged rungs, improper angle placement, and ladders not extending three feet above a landing.
5. Respiratory protection (29 CFR 1910.134): Requires a written program, medical evaluation, fit testing, and training when employees use respirators.
6. Powered industrial trucks (29 CFR 1910.178): Governs forklift operations. Common violations include operating without a valid operator evaluation, missing load capacity markings, and inadequate inspection records.
7. Fall protection training (29 CFR 1926.503): Requires employers to document training for workers exposed to fall hazards. Deficient or undocumented training is the most common finding.
8. Scaffolding, construction (29 CFR 1926.451): Covers platform construction, guardrails, and load ratings. Violations frequently involve missing guardrails and inadequate planking.
9. Eye and face protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.102): Requires appropriate eye and face protection when employees face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, or harmful light.
10. Machine guarding, general industry (29 CFR 1910.212): Requires guards on machinery to protect operators and others from point-of-operation hazards. Violations often involve removed or bypassed guarding.

How much do OSHA violations cost?

Fines alone do not capture the full cost. An inspection that results in serious citations carries not just the per-violation penalty but also the cost of corrective action, potential litigation, and reputational damage. The 2025 OSHA penalty structure breaks down as follows:

• Other-than-serious and serious violations: up to $16,550 per violation
• Willful or repeated violations: up to $165,514 per violation
• Failure to abate: up to $16,550 per day beyond the abatement deadline

A single inspection that uncovers ten serious violations could result in a penalty exceeding $165,000 before any reduction for good faith, history, or size. Willful violations in high-profile cases have resulted in total penalties exceeding $1 million. The financial argument for proactive compliance is straightforward.

How to prevent the most common OSHA violations

Prevention is not a one-time audit. Using a risk assessment matrix to prioritize hazards by likelihood and severity is one of the most effective tools HR and safety teams share. It is a set of ongoing practices embedded in how your organization manages safety, trains workers, and responds when hazards are identified. Here is where to focus for the highest-impact violations.

Fall protection

Conduct site-specific fall hazard assessments before work begins at any height. Identify every unprotected edge, opening, and elevated work surface. Then document the hierarchy of controls: elimination first, then passive protection (guardrails), then fall restraint or arrest systems, then warning lines and safety nets, with personal fall arrest as the final layer. Every worker exposed to a fall hazard must be trained on the specific system they will use, not just given a harness and sent to the roof.

Hazard communication

Review your chemical inventory and confirm you have a current safety data sheet (SDS) for every hazardous substance on site. Check that all containers are labeled with the chemical identity, hazard warnings, and supplier information. Train all employees who work with or around chemicals on the hazards specific to their area, not a generic overview. Document that training.

Lockout/tagout

Every piece of equipment that could release stored energy during servicing needs a written, machine-specific energy control procedure. Workers need annual authorized employee training plus retraining after any procedural failures. Conduct an annual program audit and document it. Most OSHA citations in this category come from missing machine-specific procedures or undocumented retraining.

Powered industrial trucks

Maintain a current, signed operator evaluation record for every forklift driver. Conduct pre-shift inspections and document them. Retrain any operator who is observed operating a truck unsafely or involved in a near-miss. OSHA requires operator evaluations every three years at minimum, and after any near-miss or observed unsafe operation.

What happens during an OSHA inspection?

OSHA inspections can be triggered by employee complaints, referrals from other agencies, fatalities or hospitalizations, follow-up from previous citations, or planned programmed inspections in high-hazard industries. Most inspections are unannounced.

When an OSHA compliance officer arrives:

1. Verify credentials and note the inspection type (complaint-based, programmed, or fatality-related)
2. Designate a management representative to accompany the officer throughout the inspection
3. Provide requested records promptly, including OSHA 300 logs, training records, and written safety programs
4. Allow a walkaround inspection. You have the right to accompany the compliance officer. Document conditions you observe as well.
5. Participate in the closing conference, where the officer will describe any conditions they are considering citing
6. If violations are cited, you have 15 working days to file a Notice of Contest to challenge citations or penalties

The most important rule: never obstruct an inspection. Interference can result in additional citations. Answer questions factually and direct the officer to your safety program documentation to demonstrate good-faith compliance efforts.

How HR fits into workplace safety compliance

OSHA compliance is a shared responsibility between safety, operations, and HR. HR's role includes maintaining required training records and supporting workplace investigations when incidents do occur, ensuring OSHA 300 logs are complete and accurate, and building reporting cultures where employees feel safe flagging hazards before OSHA finds them.

The connection between employee relations and safety reporting is direct. Employees who do not trust that their concerns will be addressed without retaliation do not report hazards. Safety incidents that result in employee harm can become workplace violence or serious injury claims. Make sure your team has what it needs to document and respond properly. Building that trust requires the same infrastructure that supports all employee voice: a clear reporting channel, a prompt response, and visible follow-through. See how AllVoices helps HR teams build reporting cultures that surface safety and workplace concerns before they escalate.