The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has finalized the agency’s Top Ten OSHA Violations list for Fiscal Year 2020. The list includes the top 10 most frequently cited standards following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA. Accordingly, OSHA publishes the list to alert employers about commonly cited standards to take steps to fix recognized hazards. Generally, OSHA does not post the finalized top ten violations list until after the first week in April. The later posting allows the review of preliminary inspection data after the close of the fiscal year (September 30th). Recently, OSHA launched a COVID-19-related workplace safety program. It will be interesting to see after Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 if COVID-19-related violations influence the items on the list.

FY 2020 Top Ten OSHA Violations

In FY 2020, the most frequently cited OSHA standards were:

1. Fall Protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501) – 5,424 violations
2. Hazard Communication Standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200) – 3,199 violations
3. Respiratory Protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) – 2,649 violations
4. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) – 2,538 violations
5. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) – 2,129 violations
6. Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147) – 2,065 violations
7. Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178) – 1,932 violations
8. Fall Protection–Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503) – 1,621 violations
9. Eye and Face Protection (29 CFR 1926.102) – 1,369 violations
10. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212) – 1,313 violations

Although multiple standards swapped positions, the criteria that make up the Top Ten OSHA Violations remained unchanged from FY 2019. Of note, a newcomer emerged among the top five: “Ladders,” which ranked sixth in FY 2019, rose one spot. Additionally, “Respiratory Protection” climbed to third from fifth, while “Lockout/Tagout” fell two places, dropping to sixth from fourth.

Employer Takeaways

In conclusion, as mentioned earlier, OSHA annually releases the list of frequently cited standards to inform employers about potential issues. Even if a workplace doesn’t use equipment included in the list, employers still need to follow the General Duty Clause. The General Duty Clause requires that all employers provide a workplace free of potential hazards for workers. However, failure to abide by the General Duty Clause could result in fines and penalties.