If OSHA’s annual “Top 10 Most Cited Standards” list feels familiar, that’s because it is.
For fiscal year 2025, the usual suspects topped the charts: fall protection, hazard communication, ladders, lockout/tagout, and respiratory protection. (OSHA)
And while some citation numbers dipped slightly, the broader message didn’t change:
Companies are still getting hurt by the same preventable safety failures.
The Top 5 OSHA Citations in 2025
- Fall Protection: General Requirements (1926.501 | 6,992 violations)
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200 | 3,010)
- Ladders (1926.1053 | 2,842 violations)
- Control of Hazardous Energy: Lockout/Tagout (1910.147 | 2,562 violations)
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134 | 2,294 violations)
Fall protection held the #1 spot for the 15th consecutive year. That’s not a trend — that’s an industry-wide miss. (EHD Insurance)
What This Means
The OSHA Top 10 isn’t just a compliance scoreboard. It’s a roadmap of where organizations continue to cut corners, skip training, or rely on blasé habits.
The most striking part? None of these hazards are new.
- Workers still fall from heights.
- Machines still aren’t properly locked out.
- Forklifts still hit people and property.
- Employees still aren’t fully trained on chemical hazards.
These are foundational safety practices, not new risks.
The Key Takeaway
The companies that avoid OSHA citations usually aren’t doing anything revolutionary. They’re doing the basics consistently:
- Conducting routine inspections
- Reinforcing training frequently
- Correcting hazards immediately
- Holding supervisors accountable
- Treating safety as operational discipline, not paperwork
Many organizations only revisit OSHA standards after an inspection, injury, or near miss.
OSHA publishes this list every year for a reason: to give employers a chance to fix predictable problems before they become worse.
The 2025 list proves one thing clearly:
The biggest workplace hazards in the US are no longer surprises
For the full OSHA Top 10 list, visit OSHA’s official recap.