Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement (DEP), presented preliminary data at a recent National Safety Council event in San Diego, detailing OSHA violations occurring from October 1, 2021, to September 6, 2022. Note that this tally includes federal OSHA data only; data collected from state OSHA agencies is not included.
The infographic below indicates both this year’s ranking and the 2021 ranking plus relative increase/decrease in violation trend and actual position change.
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Sumary of Top 10 OSHA Violations 2022
Trips and falls on the job seems to be the constant and common workplace issue, as is failing to provide adequate fall protection.
For the 12th year in a row ‘fall protection – general requirement’ is the most cited OSHA standard violation, as stated by the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA).
All of the violations on this year’s list did also appear on the 2021 list, however, there was a good deal of movement up or down the rankings as shown in the 2022 OSHA top 10 violations infographic below.
Fall protection violations remained on the top spot, but last year’s # 2 violation (respiratory protection) dropped to # 3, whilst last year’s # 5 violation (hazard communication) rocketed to the # 2 spot.
According to Kapust, one of the reasons respiratory protection violations declined in the past year, was the gradual move past COVID-19 throughout USA workplaces.
Companies have improved at recognizing the need to provide adequate respiratory Personal Protective Equipment to employees, although Kapust noted that ‘fit testing’ is still not being conducted adequately according to OSHA standards.
OSHA makes this list available every year, Kapust noted, to help employers determine what areas in their workplaces they should focus on to improve safety.
OSHA Violations 2022 Data Table
| 2022 Ranking | Violation | OSHA Subpart | 2022 Violations | Trend | 2021 Ranking | 2021 Violations |
| 1 | Fall Protection–General Requirements | (1926.501) | 5,260 violations 35 fewer violations than in the previous year | Down | 1 | 5295 |
| 2 | Hazard Communication | (1910.1200) | 2,424 violations 477 more violations than in the previous year. | Up | 5 | 1947 |
| 3 | Respiratory Protection | (1910.134) | 2,185 violations 342 fewer violations than in the previous year. | Down | 2 | 2527 |
| 4 | Ladders | (1926.1053 | 2,143 violations 117 more violations than in the previous year. | Up | 3 | 2026 |
| 5 | Scaffolding | (1926.451) | 2,058 violations 110 more violations than in the previous year. | Up | 5 | 1948 |
| 6 | Lockout/Tagout | (1910.147) | 1,977 violations 279 more violations than in the previous year. | Up | 6 | 1698 |
| 7 | Forklifts and Powered Industrial Trucks | (1910.178) | 1,749 violations. 183 more violations than previous year | Up | 9 | 1566 |
| 8 | Fall Protection–Training Requirements | (1926.503) | 1,666 violations 110 fewer violations than in the previous year. | Down | 7 | 1776 |
| 9 | Personal Protective & Lifesaving Equipment: Eye and Face Protection | (1926.102) | 1,401 violations 51 fewer violations than in the previous year. | Down | 8 | 1452 |
| 10 | Machine Guarding | (1910.212) | 1,370 violations 257 more violations than in the previous year. | Up | 10 | 1113 |
Most of the violations in this 2022 top 10 are covered in detail in either the OSHA 10 Hour Construction or OSHA 10 Hour General workplace training requirements.
