OSHA released a list of the top 10 violations for fiscal year 2019, which ended in September 2019. Georgia residents should know that though the data only reached through the middle of August 2019 and not all violations have been tallied, the ordering is not expected to change.
The construction industry saw a total of 6,010 violations of the fall protection standards, making these the most frequent violation. Employers would fail to provide fall protection equipment for workers on low-slope roofs or near unprotected edges and open sides. Next were hazard communication violations (3,671 in all) with some employers failing to give employees access to their safety data sheets. In third place were 2,813 violations with regards to scaffolding.
OSHA has what are called lockout-tagout standards to protect workers from unexpected energy release. There were 2,606 violations of these standards. After this came 2,450 violations of respiratory protection. Ladder violations (2,345) and powered industrial truck violations (2,093) were also included on the list.
Next were 1,773 violations relating specifically to the training standards for fall protection. A total of 1,743 violations had to do with machine guarding: that is, shielding those areas of a machine that can come in contact with workers’ body parts. Last were 1,411 violations where employers failed to provide sufficient eye and face protection.
Under workers’ compensation law, those who are injured on the job can receive benefits like wage replacement and reimbursement for all medical expenses. While they do not need to prove that someone else’s negligence was involved, this may become an important step if the employer chooses to deny payment. In such cases, a knowledge of OSHA standards would come in handy. Whatever the nature of their case, victims may want a lawyer to assist them, especially with any appeals.
