US Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Enforcement
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is authorized by the Occupational Safety Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to assure employers provide safe and healthful conditions for working men and women free of recognized hazards and by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education, and technical assistance. OSHA also establishes cooperative programs to partner and work collaboratively with employers, employees, and other stakeholders. OSHA balances enforcement and cooperative programs to reduce workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
OSHA INSPECTION ACTIVITY
In FY 2022, OSHA conducted 31,820 inspections, including 17,739 (about 56 percent) unprogrammed inspections, which includes employee complaints, injuries/fatalities, and referrals. Of these 31,820 inspections, 14,081 (about 44 percent) were programmed inspections that focused OSHA's enforcement resources towards industries and operations where known hazards exist (e.g. COVID-19, respirable silica, combustible dusts, chemical processing, ship-breaking, and falls in construction).
| OSHA Inspection Statistics | FY 2017 | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020* | FY 2021* | FY 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Inspections | 32,408 | 32,023 | 33,393 | 21,710 | 24,333 | 31,820 |
| Total Programmed Inspections | 14,377 | 13,956 | 14,900 | 8,729 | 10,584 | 14,081 |
| Total Unprogrammed Inspections | 18,031 | 18,067 | 18,493 | 12,981 | 13,749 | 17,739 |
| ~ Fatality/Catastrophe Inspections | 837 | 941 | 919 | 1,498 | 1,386 | 1,119 |
| ~ Complaints Inspection | 8,249 | 7,489 | 7,391 | 4,592 | 4,955 | 6,789 |
| ~ Referrals* | 6,286 | 6,463 | 6,718 | 4,810 | 5,310 | 6,091 |
| ~ Other Unprogrammed Inspections | 2,659 | 3,174 | 3,465 | 2,081 | 2,098 | 3,740 |
| *This period represents the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||||
In FY 2020, the OSHA Weighting System (OWS) replaced the Enforcement Weighting System. The OWS is a revision to the EWS, recognizing a greater percentage of the overall work performed by the field – inspections organized in strategic groups of categories, essential enforcement support functions, and compliance assistance efforts. Following completion of its third fiscal year, the enforcement portion of OWS is displayed below while essential enforcement support functions and compliance assistance portions are still under development. More information about OWS can be found here.
| OSHA Weighting System Summary | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspections | EU Value | Inspections | EU Value | Inspections | EU Value | |
| Total | 21,710 | 43,925 | 24,333 | 48,386 | 31,820 | 60,037 |
| Group A - 7 EUs | 128 | 896 | 75 | 525 | 119 | 833 |
| Group B - 5 EUs | 1,554 | 7,770 | 1,462 | 7,310 | 1,235 | 6,175 |
| Group C - 3 EUs | 6,836 | 20,508 | 8,157 | 24,471 | 10,148 | 30,444 |
| Group D - 2 EUs | 1,559 | 3,118 | 1,443 | 2,886 | 2,267 | 4,534 |
| Group E - 1 EU | 11,633 | 11,633 | 13,196 | 13,196 | 18,051 | 18,051 |
For more information on OSHA inspections, see the OSHA Inspection Fact Sheet https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/factsheet-inspections.pdf, or click these links for more information on OSHA's compliance assistance specialists and their services https://www.osha.gov/complianceassistance/cas and OSHA's free on-site assistance for small employers https://www.osha.gov/smallbusiness. For information on employee rights, see the OSHA Workers Page https://www.osha.gov/workers. For information on employer responsibilities and other compliance assistance resources see the OSHA Help for Employers webpage https://www.osha.gov/employers.