Can you guess the top 10 OSHA violations for 2023?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently revealed a preliminary list of the most frequently cited safety violations for fiscal year 2023, which ended September 30th. The announcement, which was made at the 2023 NSC Safety Congress & Expo., is significant because knowing how and why workplace injuries occur puts employers in a better position to develop and implement their own safety and training programs.
This year’s list of most frequently cited safety standards looks a lot like last year’s. In fact, except for a slight change in order, the lists are identical. Fall protection was the most frequently cited violation for the 13th consecutive year. Here is the complete list.
- Fall Protection (General Requirements)
- Hazard Communication
- Ladders
- Scaffolding
- Powered Industrial Trucks
- Lockout/Tagout
- Respiratory Protection
- Fall Protection (Training Requirements)
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment (Eye and Face Protection)
- Machine Guarding
An employer’s failure to observe safety standards can quickly become an OSHA violation. These can be very costly. The maximum penalty for the following OSHA violations is currently $15,625 per violation, except for willful or repeated violations, which carry a maximum penalty of $156,259 per violation.
- WILLFUL: A willful violation is defined as a violation in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.
- SERIOUS: A serious violation exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.
- REPEATED: A repeated violation occurs when a previously-cited business fails to correct the violation or is cited again for the same or a substantially similar condition.
- OTHER-THAN-SERIOUS: A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but is not serious in nature, is classified as "other-than-serious."
Workplace safety, for better or worse, begins at the top. Knowing how and why workplace injuries occur puts employers in a better position to prevent them. With an effective workplace safety program, employers can reduce the risk of workplace injuries and may even end up paying less for workers’ compensation insurance.
The Human Equation prepares all risk management and insurance content with the professional guidance of Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk.