The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has many different safety regulations in effect which are aimed at preventing injuries on worksites. Whether these OSHA standards are violated or not doesn’t matter when it comes to getting work injury benefits, so any injured worker should seek help from a New York workers’ compensation law firm for assistance getting workplace injury benefits following an accident. The OSHA standards do matter, however, because employers who violate these standards can be cited and fined.
There are certain safety standards which are repeatedly violated by employers and result in frequent OSHA citations. Safety BLR has reported on new data released by OSHA showing the most frequently-violated safety regulations over the course of fiscal year 2016. Employers and employees need to know which standards are the most frequently violated, so employers can avoid making mistakes and employees can learn about the biggest risk factors for injury.
The Most Frequently Violated OSHA Standards
According to Safety BLR, the 10 most commonly violated standards for fiscal year 2016 are also the most commonly violated standards over the course of past years as well. There is little variation from year-to-year when it comes to the safety lapses employers are making. These safety failures included a failure to follow OSHA regulations related to:
- General requirements for electrical safety. There were 1,704 violations of basic requirements for electrical safety. Many violations resulted from failure to guard live parts or to protect and maintain workspaces.
- Requirements for safe wiring methods. There were a total of 1,940 violations, many of which involved the use of extension cords instead of appropriate permanent wiring.
- Machine guarding rules: A total of 2,451 violations of regulations related to machine guarding occurred.
- Ladder safety regulations: There were 2,639 violations of regulations related to safe use of ladders in the workplace.
- Safe operation of powered industrial trucks: A total of 2,860 violations occurred related to safety regulations governing industrial truck use.
- Lockout/ tagout rules: There were 3,414 violations of lock out and tag out rules.
- Respiratory protection standards: A total of 3,585 violations related to failure to provide appropriate respiratory protection.
- Scaffolding regulations: There were 3,906 violations due to failure to follow OSHA rules for scaffolding. Common violations included failure to provide safe access to scaffolding, inadequate fall protection, and using mixed parts during scaffolding construction.
- Hazard communication: A total of 5,677 violations were handed out for failure to provide appropriate communication related to workplace hazards. Some of the failures included not training workers on handling hazardous chemicals, and not maintaining safety data sheets (SDS) for all chemicals used on worksites.
- Fall protection rules: There were 6,929 violations related to failure to follow rules for preventing falls. Violations included not providing protective gear, and allowing unprotected edges on worksites.
Regardless of whether OSHA standards were violated or an employer maintained a safe worksite, you have rights if you get hurt on-the-job. Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff can provide representation and assistance in seeking work injury benefits. Contact our office as soon as possible following an injury to find out how you can get benefits.
