Top OSHA Violations of 2024 and Higher Penalties for 2025

Beginning Jan. 15, OSHA’s maximum penalties for violations will increase from $16,131 per violation to $16,550 for each serious and other-than-serious violation, as well as each day an employer fails to abate a previously cited violation. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will also increase from $161,323 per violation to $165,514 per violation.

This represents an annual increase of around 2.6% from 2024 to 2025, a slight decrease from the 3.2% increase OSHA announced in penalty increases from 2023 to 2024. The penalty increases are tied to the annual cost-of-living increases across the federal government and to inflation.

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The most common types of construction site injuries result from falls. This aligns with OSHA’s most-cited violations on jobsites.

Top OSHA violations for fiscal year 2024 (with standard cited):

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 6,307 violations
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 2,888
3. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,573
4. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,470
5. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,443
6. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,248
7. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 2,050
8. Scaffolding (1926.451): 1,873
9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,814
10. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,541

The safety of residential construction workers is a top priority of NAHB and should be the top priority of every builder, remodeler and contractor. NAHB members and non-members can use a variety of free safety resources from NAHB, including our Jobsite Safety mobile app, Video Toolbox Talks series and more, to help keep their workers safe.