Top 10 OSHA Violations in 2025 (With Fixes for Contractors)

Last updated: April 2026

If these top violations keep repeating, your issue is workflow consistency, not awareness. Use digital safety forms for inspections and corrective actions, link investigations in the incident system, and assign targeted refreshers through the learning management system.

At the end of each year, OSHA releases a valuable resource for safety leaders and operations teams. Their report highlights the most common OSHA violations observed in the workplace and lists them in order of frequency.

Here’s how you can use it:

• Cross-check your safety program to find weak links or repeated infractions

• Bring credible stats into safety meetings and toolbox talks

• Focus your time on the gaps that actually get enforced

If you want a fast, contractor-friendly way to apply this list to your own jobs, start your 30-Day Free Trial. You can pinpoint the 1–2 gaps that usually trigger citations, jobsite shutdown risk, or GC pressure, then assign clear next steps.

TOP 10 MOST FREQUENTLY CITED OSHA VIOLATIONS IN 2025

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements: 5,914 violations (29 CFR 1926.501)

2. Hazard Communication: 2,546 violations (29 CFR 1910.1200)

3. Ladders: 2,405 violations (29 CFR 1926.1053)

4. Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout): 2,177 violations (29 CFR 1910.147)

5. Respiratory Protection: 1,953 violations (29 CFR 1910.134)

6. Fall Protection – Training Requirements: 1,907 violations (29 CFR 1926.503)

7. Scaffolding – General Requirements: 1,905 violations (29 CFR 1926.451)

8. Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts): 1,826 violations (29 CFR 1910.178)

9. Eye and Face Protection: 1,665 violations (29 CFR 1926.102)

10. Machine Guarding: 1,239 violations (29 CFR 1910.212)

As we examine each in detail, you may recognize familiar problem areas.

Ask yourself:

• Are any of these common trouble spots on your jobsites or in your shop?

• Are the procedures you have in place coming up short in the field?

• If a GC, client, or inspector asked for proof today, could you pull it in minutes, not hours?

Now it’s time to use the OSHA Top 10 list to make the right changes (without turning safety into more admin).

MACHINE GUARDING WAS THE #10 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

ARE GUARDS ACTUALLY IN PLACE OR “REMOVED FOR A SECOND”?

Machine guarding violations usually aren’t complicated. They happen when guards are missing, removed, or bypassed because “it’s faster.”

The risk is obvious, but the reason it keeps showing up is also obvious: guarding slips when production is moving and nobody wants to slow down.

Quick fixes that work:

• Make one rule: if the guard isn’t on it, the tool is out of service

• Do a short shop walk weekly and tag anything missing guards

• Build guarding checks into your equipment inspection routine (not “when we remember”)

Ready to get started?  Check out our blog on equipment inspection systems.

If you want to quickly identify where your shop or field inspections are breaking down, Safety Evolution can analyse your inspection records and flag the gaps OSHA is most likely to cite.

EYE AND FACE PROTECTION WAS THE #9 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

IS PPE “AVAILABLE” OR ACTUALLY WORN?

This one is frustrating because it’s usually preventable. The most common gap is simple: safety glasses are present… but not on faces.

If you want fewer incidents and fewer citations, focus less on posters and more on repeatable habits.

Quick fixes that work:

• Put spare glasses where work actually happens (gang box, truck, trailer)

• Make it a foreman standard: glasses on when the tool turns on

• Match eye/face PPE to the task (cutting, grinding, drilling, chipping)

Ready to get started? Check out our blog on PPE in construction

POWERED INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS (FORKLIFTS) WERE THE #8 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

ARE OPERATORS CURRENT, CHECKS CONSISTENT, AND DEFECTS CLOSED OUT?

Forklift issues show up year after year because companies rely on “the good operator” instead of a simple system:

• Who is authorized?

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• Is training current?

• Are daily checks happening?

• Are defects actually fixed?

Quick fixes that work:

• Keep a current list of authorized operators

• Run daily pre-use inspections and track defects until they’re closed out

• Make “park it until fixed” the standard (not optional)

Ready to get started? If you want a strong backbone for consistent equipment procedures across jobs, check out this blog.

If your issue is “we do checks… but the proof is scattered,” Safety Evolution can check your documentation and show you exactly which records are missing or incomplete.

SCAFFOLDING WAS THE #7 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

DOES YOUR COMPANY USE OSHA-COMPLIANT SCAFFOLD CHECKS?

Scaffold violations usually happen for predictable reasons:

• Guardrails missing or incomplete

• Poor foundations (no base plates, no mud sills where needed)

• Unsafe access

• Platforms not properly planked

• Workers not trained in scaffold hazard recognition

The fix is consistency. One competent person owns the checks, and the same expectations apply on every job.

Ready to get started? Check out our blog on scaffolding requirements and best practices.

FALL PROTECTION TRAINING WAS THE #6 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

WOULD YOUR TRAINING HOLD UP IF SOMEONE ASKED FOR PROOF TODAY?

This is the classic problem: “We trained them… kind of.” OSHA expects that employees exposed to fall hazards have been trained and that the training is documented.

Quick fixes that work:

• Train anyone exposed to fall hazards (not just the supervisor)

• Document it simply (date, topic, names, trainer)

• Refresh training when scope changes, crews change, or after a close call

Ready to get started? Check out our blog on OSHA training requirements.

If you want to quickly see what you have and what’s missing, Safety Evolution can analyse your safety records and show you exactly where the gaps are.

RESPIRATORY PROTECTION WAS THE #5 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

DO YOU HAVE A REAL RESPIRATORY PROGRAM OR JUST “HANDING OUT MASKS”?

Respiratory protection is specialized PPE. The most common compliance gaps are:

• No written program

• Missing medical evaluations (when required)

• Missing fit testing (for tight-fitting respirators)

• Training not documented

Construction makes this harder because exposures don’t always feel urgent in the moment,  until you’re asked for proof.

Ready to get started? Check out our blog on OSHA respiratory protection requirements,
and for construction-specific silica control.

LOCKOUT/TAGOUT WAS THE #4 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

DOES YOUR TEAM CONTROL HAZARDOUS ENERGY OR “WORK AROUND IT”?

This one matters because failures here can lead to severe injuries and fatalities. In construction, hazardous energy control shows up more than people think: temporary power, generators, equipment servicing, troubleshooting, and tie-ins.

Quick fixes that work:

• Identify the equipment your team services or maintains

• Write simple lockout steps for the equipment types you actually use

• Train it, then verify it’s being followed

• Make locks available and assign ownership (not “everyone” and not “no one”)

Ready to get started? Check out our blog on Lockout/Tagout in construction.

LADDERS WERE THE #3 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

DOES YOUR BUSINESS CATCH COMPLACENCY BEFORE IT BECOMES A CITATION OR AN INCIDENT?

Ladders are everyday equipment, which makes them a high-risk place for complacency. Common misses include:

• Using the wrong ladder for the job

• Unsafe setup or unstable surfaces

• Using the top step/top cap

• Extension ladders not extending high enough above the landing

Quick fixes that work:

• Standardize ladder sizes that match your common tasks

• Train and enforce the basics (setup, angle, secure, condition)

• Add a simple “ladder competency check” to reinforce expectations on site

Ready to get started? Check out our blog on ladder and stairway requirements.

HAZARD COMMUNICATION WAS THE #2 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

DOES YOUR PROGRAM CAPTURE TRAINING, SDS ACCESS, AND “RIGHT TO KNOW” PROOF?

HazCom citations are usually about basics:

• No written program

• SDS sheets not accessible to workers

• Poor labeling (especially secondary containers like spray bottles)

• Training not documented

If your proof is scattered (texts, email threads, “it’s in someone’s truck”), this category is where you get burned.

Quick fixes that work:

• Maintain a simple chemical list for what’s actually used on your jobs

• Make SDS easy to access during the shift (not “back at the office”)

• Label secondary containers every time

• Train in plain language and store proof in one place

Ready to get started? Check out our guide to Safety Data Sheets and if you want a practical way to decide controls beyond “just wear PPE,” start here.

If you want help centralizing training + SDS + proof so it’s not a scavenger hunt, Safety Evolution can check all of it and flag what’s missing.

FALL PROTECTION WAS THE #1 OSHA VIOLATION IN 2025.

DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE A STRONG FALL PROTECTION PLAN?

Fall protection stays #1 because it’s not one mistake, it’s a pattern: edges, holes, leading edges, roof work, incomplete systems, and inconsistent enforcement across sites.

A Fall Protection Plan is the key to establishing a consistent standard of safety when workers are exposed to falls. It provides a procedure and a formula that can be repeated from job to job, even when crews change.

Consider these important points and include them in your Fall Protection Plan:

1. Hazard analysis and recognition – identify fall hazards before the task starts

2. Preventing the fall – use higher-level controls first (guardrails, covers, access control)

3. Controlling the fall – personal fall arrest systems when prevention isn’t possible

4. Written rescue plan – who is responsible and how rescue will proceed

5. Training employees – equipment use, limits, and documentation

6. Inspections – equipment plus site-specific fall hazards (daily, not “sometimes”)

7. Regular review and assessment – fix what keeps showing up

Ready to get started? Check out our blog on 6 Elements Of A Strong Fall Protection Plan.

If you’re not sure whether your fall protection plan would hold up under GC scrutiny or an OSHA visit, Safety Evolution can check your documentation and flag the gaps.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Taking a closer look at your safety system using OSHA’s Top 10 can help you:

• Prevent citations before an inspector shows up

• Reduce jobsite shutdown risk

• Make training and proof easy to find

• Stop relying on tribal knowledge and get consistency across crews

If you want to pinpoint the 1–2 gaps most likely to get you cited, Safety Evolution can analyse your safety records and flag the violations that match OSHA's top 10 list.

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