Another year, another warning that fall protection matters. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently revealed the most cited safety standards for the 2025 fiscal year. Guess what standard topped the list for the 15th time in a row?
If you guessed Fall Protection — General Requirements, pat yourself on the back.
Slips, trips and falls are one of OSHA’s Focus Four hazards, and one of the most deadly incidents on a construction site. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction industry took the lead in fatal falls with 423 fatalities — nearly 50% of all of these types of incidents. Most fatal falls occurred among roofing contractors, with residential construction coming in second place.
Pro tip: If you have to work at any heights 6 feet or greater on a construction site, you need to use common-sense fall protection. For general industry workers, fall protection is required at any height over 4 feet. Proper control can look different for every situation, but common fall protection includes fall arrest harnesses and proper anchoring, guardrails and stable scaffolding, and proper ladder use.
Trust us, don’t think about stacking a ladder on top of scaffolding to get some extra reach. It probably won’t end well, especially if you’re not using a harness.
OSHA’s full list of top-cited standards, revealed at the 2025 NSC Safety Congress and Expo, are as follows. We’ve also include easy links to related toolbox talk guides so you can easily brush up on proper controls and hazard prevention. Knowing is half the battle, after all.
Top 10 Most-Cited OSHA Standards for 2025
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,914 violations
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 2,546
- Ladders (1926.1053): 2,405
- Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,177
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 1,953
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,907
- Scaffolding (1926.451): 1,905
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 1,826
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,665
- Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,239
Want to learn more about job site safety? Visit the Safety Mojo blog to stay in the know and keep your crew safe.
