Lack of fall protection remains at the top of OSHA violations

September 16, 2025

DENVER — The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday announced the preliminary top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations over most of the 2025 fiscal year, naming violations of fall protection requirements No. 1, with 5,914 citations.

Eric Harbin, OSHA’s regional administrator in the Dallas office, presented the list at the National Safety Council Congress and Expo, saying most of the citations came from the roofing industry.

“They do extremely valuable work, (but) I think because they’re so small and less organized among the industries, it’s hard for them to know the need for training and providing equipment,” he said.

The second-most frequently cited workplace safety violation was hazard communications, with 2,546 citations. In that, “the No. 1 violation of the (Hazard Communications) Standard is not preparing a written communication program, that’s like no program at all, and not providing effective education to train workers,” he said.

Other top citation areas from Oct. 1, 2024, to Aug. 12:

3.     Ladders (2,405 citations)

4.     Control of Hazardous Energy, regarding lockout/tagout) (2,177)

5.     Respiratory Protection (1,953)

6.     Fall Protection training requirements (1,907)

7.     Scaffolding (1,905)

8.     Powered Industrial Trucks (1,826)

9.     Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment, Eye and Face Protection (1,665)

10.  Machine Guarding (1,239)