OSHA’s 2025 data shows that fall protection, ladder safety, and hazard communication remain the most common workplace violations
For the 15th year in a row, Fall Protection – General Requirements tops OSHA’s list of the most frequently cited safety violations that often lead to workplace injuries. That’s not a streak to celebrate. It’s a sign that, despite years of warnings, inspections, and fines, too many employers are still cutting corners when it comes to keeping workers safe.
The preliminary data, released at the 2025 NSC Safety Congress & Expo, reveal the same old problems year after year. While safety professionals gather to share best practices and new technologies, the numbers tell a frustrating story: we’re still failing at the basics.
What are the top 10 OSHA violations for 2025?
If this list looks familiar, that’s because it is. The rankings barely budge from year to year, proving that many workplaces are repeating the same mistakes. Here’s what it looks like:
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) – 5,914 violations
(The same rule has been #1 since 2011.) - 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
- Eye and Face Protection (1926.102) – 1,665
- Machine Guarding (1910.212) – 1,239
Notice a pattern? Falls, poor training, and lack of proper protective equipment dominate the list. These aren’t complicated, niche issues. They’re fundamental safety failures that put workers at risk every single day.
Why do these violations keep happening?
The real question isn’t what the violations are; it’s why they persist. After all, OSHA’s standards aren’t new. The rules for fall protection, lockout/tagout, and machine guarding have been around for decades. So what’s the disconnect?
- Lack of training (or bad training): Too many employers treat safety training like a one-and-done checkbox. Workers get a quick PowerPoint on their first day and never hear about it again. But safety isn’t something you learn once; it’s an ongoing process. If employees don’t understand why a rule exists or how to follow it, they’re more likely to take shortcuts.
- Poor hazard controls: Some companies wait for a work accident to happen before fixing a problem. By then, it’s too late. Proactive safety means regularly inspecting equipment, identifying risks before they cause harm, and actually using the safeguards in place (e.g., guardrails, PPE, and lockout devices).
- Weak leadership accountability: When executives prioritize production over safety, workers notice. If management turns a blind eye to unsafe behaviors (e.g., skipping fall protection or bypassing lockout/tagout), employees will follow suit. Safety has to come from the top, or it won’t stick.
- Employee disengagement: Workers often know the hazards better than anyone. But if they don’t feel safe speaking up, problems go unreported. A culture where employees fear retaliation for pointing out risks is a culture where accidents will happen.
Lorraine Martin, CEO of the National Safety Council, put it bluntly: "The consistency in citation rankings year after year signals there is more work ahead." In other words, we’re not making enough progress.
What can workplaces actually improve?
The good news is that these problems are fixable. Companies that have slashed violations and injuries didn’t do it by luck; they made safety a real priority. Here’s how:
Train like lives depend on it (because they do)
Ditch the boring slideshows. Use hands-on demonstrations, real-life scenarios, and regular refreshers. Make sure training is in a language workers understand. If half your crew speaks Spanish, your safety materials should too. Test knowledge; don’t just assume people “get it.”
Find hazards before they find you
Conduct daily walkthroughs. Don’t wait for OSHA to point out problems. Encourage near-miss reporting. If someone almost falls off a ladder, that’s a chance to fix the issue before someone gets hurt. Also, use technology. Wearables, sensors, and AI can spot risks humans might miss.
Get workers involved
Ask employees for input on safety procedures. They’re the ones on the front lines. Also, reward safe behavior. Recognition goes a long way in reinforcing good habits. Make it easy to report hazards. If the process is complicated, people won’t bother.
Hold leaders accountable
Safety should be a core value, not just a policy. That means budgeting for it, measuring it, and rewarding it. If a manager ignores safety rules, there should be consequences, just like there would be for missing a production deadline.
What’s the cost of doing nothing?
Every violation on OSHA’s list poses a real risk, including injuries, fatalities, fines, and lost productivity. Falls from heights can be deadly. Uncontrolled hazardous energy (lockout/tagout failures) can maim or kill. Poor respiratory protection can lead to long-term health problems.
Beyond the human toll, unsafe workplaces pay the price in workers’ comp claims, OSHA fines, and damaged reputations. Companies with strong safety records don’t just avoid penalties; they attract better workers, reduce turnover, and improve morale.
What can I do if I'm hurt at work in Texas?
Let’s say you’re on a construction site, operating a forklift, when a defective part fails and sends you to the hospital. Or maybe a contractor or another company causes a serious accident that leaves you with injuries. In both cases, someone who doesn’t even work for your company caused your injury. That’s not just bad luck; that’s a third-party work injury claim, and it could mean you’re entitled to far more compensation than workers’ comp would ever offer.
Texas workers’ comp laws usually block you from suing your own employer. But if a subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or another driver caused your work accident? That’s a different story.
You have the right to hold them accountable, and The Herrera Law Firm knows exactly how to make that happen. We don’t handle workers’ comp cases. Instead, we focus on going after the people who really caused your injury; the ones your employer’s insurance won’t touch. Plus, we don’t get paid unless we win.
These cases are complicated, but that’s why you need a law firm that’s won them before. We dig deep into accident reports, safety inspections, witness statements, and expert analysis to build a case that forces the negligent party to pay for their actions.
To get started, contact us online or call to book a free consultation with our legal team.
