Top 10 Serious and Willful OSHA Violations

OSHA's Top Ten Citation List for 2015 reveals trends in serious and willful violations. A serious OSHA violation is defined as "one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard."

Top 10 Serious Violations

1. Fall Protection: 6,173 violations (1926.501)
2. Scaffolding: 4,281 violations (1926.451)
3. Hazard Communication: 3,180 violations (1910.1200)
4. LO/TO: 2,739 violations (1910.147)
5. Ladders: 2,512 violations (1926.1053)
6. Respiratory Protection: 2,250 violations (1910.134)
7. Machine Guarding: 2,242 violations (1910.212)
8. Powered Industrial Trucks: 2,182 violations (1910.178)
9. Electrical-Wiring Methods: 1,976 violations (1910.305)
10. Electrical-General Requirements: 1,557 violations (1910.303)

A willful OSHA violation is defined as "committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and requirements."

Top 10 Willful Violations

1. Fall Protection: 161 violations (1926.501)
2. Asbestos: 47 violations (1926.1101)
3. Excavations: 44 violations (1926.652)
4. Scaffolding: 38 violations (1926.451)
5. LO/TO: 37 violations (1910.147)
6. Machine Guarding: 35 violations (1910.212)
7. Permit-Required Confined Spaces: 22 violations (1910.146)
8. Specific Excavation Requirements: 12 violations (1926.651)
9. Fall Protection-Steel Erection: 11 violations (1926.760)
10. Respiratory Protection/Occupational Noise Exposure/Bloodborne Pathogens: 10 violations (1910.134) (1910.95) (1910.1030)

See our OSHA Top Ten Violation Infographic which creates a clear visual and safety resources of the agency's most violated citations for 2015.