OSHA Basics: OSHA's Top Ten Citation Lists, Year-by-Year

If you’re new to Safety, EHS, or OSHA, you might be a fan of our OSHA Basics series of articles, which explains a number of basic OSHA concepts, ideas, programs, regulations, etc. We’ve got a full list of the articles in this series at the bottom of this article.

And, as you may have guessed, THIS is another article in our OSHA Basics series. In this one, we’re going to give you a little bit of historical information about what’s commonly known as “OSHA’s Top Ten,” which is an annual list of the 10 standard violations that OSHA wrote the most citations for in the previous year (a fiscal year, to be exact, not a calendar year).

Before you read on, there are a few things to know or that we should you remind you of. The first is that you should remember that this list changes every year. And the second is that while the list changes every year, most of the items appear on the list year after year after year.

Read on to get a bit of a historic introduction to OSHA’s Top Ten lists from recent years.

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OSHA’s Top Ten: Looking Back at Recent Years

We’ve written specific articles about the OSHA’s Top Ten lists in recent years, so we’re just going to include each top 10 list and a link back to our more extended annual articles below.

Remember to come back for OSHA’s Top Ten, 2018 and beyond.

OSHA’s Top Ten, 2019

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 6,010 violations
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,671 violations
3. Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,813 violations
4. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,606 violations
5. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,450 violations
6. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,345 violations
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,093 violations
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,773 violations
9. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,743 violations
10. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,411 violations

OSHA’s Top Ten, 2018

Here’s OSHA’s top ten list for fiscal year 2018 plus the number of citations for each standard:

Fall Protection–General Requirements, 1926.501; 7,270 violations
Hazard Communication, 1910.1200; 4,552 violations
Scaffolding, 1926.451; 3,336 violations
Respiratory Protection, 1910.134; 3,118 violations
Lockout/Tagout, 1910.147; 2,944 violations
Ladders, 1926.1053; 2,812 violations
Powered Industrial Trucks, 1910.178; 2,294 violations
Fall Protection–Training Requirements, 1926.503; 1,982 violations
Machine Guarding, 1910.212; 1,972 violations
Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment-Eye and Face Protection, 1926.102; 1,536 violations

Click for a more in-depth look at OSHA’s Top Ten, 2018.

OSHA’s Top Ten, 2017

Here’s OSHA’s top ten list for fiscal year 2017 plus the number of citations for each standard:

Fall Protection-General Requirements (1026.501), 6,072 citations
Hazard Communication (1910.1200), 4,176 citations
Scaffolding (1926.451), 3,288 citations
Respiratory Protection (1910.134), 3,097 citations
Lockout/Tagout (1910.147), 2,877 citations
Ladders (1926.1053), 2,241 citations
Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178), 2,162 citations
Machine Guarding (1910.212), 1,933 citations
Fall Protection–Training Requirements (1926.503), 1,523 citations
Electrical-Wiring Methods (1910.305), 1,405 citations

Click for a more in-depth look at OSHA’s Top Ten, 2017.

OSHA’s Top Ten, 2016

Here’s OSHA’s top ten list for fiscal year 2017 plus the number of citations for each standard:

Fall Protection, 1926.501, 6.906 citations
Hazard Communication, 1910.1200, 5,665 citations
Scaffolding, 1926.451, 3,900 citations
Respiratory Protection, 1910.134, 3,573 citations
Lockout/Tagout, 1910.147, 3,406 citations
Powered Industrial Trucks, 1910.178, 2,855 citations
Ladders, 1926.1053, 2,625 citations
Machine Guarding, 1910.212, 2,488 citations
Electrical Wiring Methods, 1910.305, 1,937 citations
Electrical, General Requirements, 1910.303, 1,704 citations

Click for a more in-depth look at OSHA’s Top Ten, 2016.

OSHA’s Top Ten, 2015

Here’s OSHA’s top ten list for fiscal year 2015 plus the number of citations for each standard:

Fall Protection, 1926.501, 7,516 citations
Hazard Communication, 1910.1200, 6,148 citations
Scaffolding, 1926.451, 4,681 citations
Respiratory Protection, 1910.134, 3,626 citations
Lockout/Tagout, 1910.147, 3,308 citations, 3,147 citations
Powered Industrial Trucks, 1910.178, 3,004 citations
Ladders, 1926.1053, 2,732 citations
Electrical-Wiring Methods, 1910.305, 2,624 citations
Machine Guarding, 1910.212, 2,540 citations
Electrical, General Requirements, 1910.303, 2,181 citations

Click for a more in-depth look at OSHA’s Top Ten, 2015.

OSHA’s Top Ten, 2014

Here’s OSHA’s top ten list for fiscal year 2014 plus the number of citations for each standard:

Fall Protection (1926.501) – 6,143 violations
Hazard Communication (1910.1200) – 5,161 violations
Scaffolding (1926.451) – 4,029 violations
Respiratory Protection (1910.134) – 3,223 violations
Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) – 2,704 violations
Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) – 2,662 violations
Electrical, Wiring Methods (1910.305) – 2,490 violations
Ladders (1926.1053) – 2,448 violations
Machine Guarding (1910.212) – 2,200 violations
Electrical, General Requirements (1910.303) – 2,056 violations

Click for a more in-depth look at OSHA’s Top Ten, 2014.

Conclusion: OSHA’s Top Ten(s) and More OSHA Basics

Hope you found this look at a few years’ worth of “OSHA’s Top Ten” lists helpful and informative.

Remember that this is just one article in a series we’ve dubbed OSHA Basics. Feel free to check out any of the other articles below:

OSHA Basics: Letters of Interpretation
OSHA Basics: OSHA’s Consultation Services
OSHA Basics: OSHA Directives
OSHA Basics: OSHA Variances
OSHA Basics: OSHA’s Vertical and Horizontal Standards
OSHA Basics: OSHA’s Parts 1910 and 1926
OSHA Basics: How OSHA Standards are Named and Numbered
OSHA Basics: Incorporation by Reference (IBR)
OSHA Basics: The OSHA Field Operations Manual
OSHA Basics: OSHA’s Small Business Handbook
OSHA Basics: The General Duty Clause-5.(a)(1)
OSHA Basics: OSHA’s Special Industry Standards in Subpart R
OSHA Basics: The OSHA Poster
OSHA Basics: The Competent Person Role
OSHA Basics: OSHA Penalties
OSHA Basics: OSHA’s Yearly Top Ten Lists (Recent Years Overview)
This three-article series on OSHA General Industry Compliance Requirements
This three-article series on OSHA Inspections

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Jeffrey Dalto

Jeffrey Dalto is an Instructional Designer and the Senior Learning & Development Specialist at Convergence Training. He's worked in training/learning & development for 25 years, in safety and safety training for more than 10, is an OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer for General Industry OSHA 10 and 30, has completed a General Industry Safety and Health Specialist Certificate from the University of Washington/Pacific Northwest OSHA Education Center and an Instructional Design certification from the Association of Talent Development (ATD), and is a member of the committee creating the upcoming ANSI/ASSP Z490.2 national standard on online environmental, health, and safety training. Jeff frequently writes for magazines related to safety, safety training, and training and frequently speaks at conferences on the same issues, including the Washington Governor's Safety and Health Conference, the Oregon Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Conference, the Wisconsin Safety Conference, the MSHA Training Resources Applied to Mining (TRAM) Conference, and others.

OSHA Basics: OSHA’s Top Ten Violations/Citations, Year by Year