OSHA Top 10 Citations: 2011-2020


OSHA Top 10 2011 - 2020

2020 OSHA Top Citations – Same as 2019

OSHA announced it’s preliminary findings for the most cited standards for 2020, as revealed in a recent webinar with Safety+Health magazine. Not surprisingly, there were no changes from the 2019 list, with Fall Protection ranking Number 1 for the 10th straight year. Other notable changes were Respiratory Protection (1910.134) jumping to Number 3 from Number 5, Ladders (1926.1053) moving from Number 6 to Number 5, and PPE Eye & Face Protection (1926.102) moving from Number 10 to Number 9.

2020 OSHA Top 10

  1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,424 violations
  2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,199
  3. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,649
  4. Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,538
  5. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,129
  6. Control of Hazardous Energy – Lockout / Tagout (1910.147): 2,065
  7. Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs) (1910.178): 1,932
  8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,621
  9. Personal Protective (PPE) and Life Saving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,369 
  10. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,313

Little Change over a 10 Year Period

As you can see from the graphic above (larger version here), only 12 standards have reached the Top 10 over the last decade, with the only changes being:

  • Added:
    • Fall Protection, Training (1926.503)
    • PPE, Eye & Face Protection (1926.102
  • Removed:
    • Electrical, Wiring Methods (1910.305)
    • Electrical, General (1910.303)

Inspections Down in 2020

Inspections by OSHA were down in 2020, primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and nearly 39% below 2015 levels.