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 2023, OSHA conducted 34,221 inspections, including 18,377 (about 54 percent) unprogrammed inspections, which includes employee complaints, injuries/fatalities, and referrals. Of these 34,221 inspections, 15,844 (about 46 percent) were programmed inspections that focused OSHA's enforcement resources on industries and operations where known hazards exist (e.g. heat, respirable silica, combustible dusts, chemical processing, ship-breaking, and falls in construction).
| OSHA Inspection Statistics | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020* | FY 2021* | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Inspections | 32,023 | 33,393 | 21,710 | 24,333 | 31,820 | 34,221 |
| Total Programmed Inspections | 13,956 | 14,900 | 8,729 | 10,584 | 14,081 | 15,844 |
| Total Unprogrammed Inspections | 18,067 | 18,493 | 12,981 | 13,749 | 17,739 | 18,377 |
| ~ Fatality/Catastrophe Inspections | 941 | 919 | 1,498 | 1,386 | 1,119 | 952 |
| ~ Complaints Inspection | 7,489 | 7,391 | 4,592 | 4,955 | 6,789 | 8,221 |
| ~ Referrals | 6,463 | 6,718 | 4,810 | 5,310 | 6,091 | 6,419 |
| ~ Other Unprogrammed Inspections | 3,174 | 3,465 | 2,081 | 2,098 | 3,740 | 2,785 |
| *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. For more information about the OSHA Weighting System refer to the OWS Memo.
| OSHA Weighting System Summary | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspections | EU Value | Inspections | EU Value | Inspections | EU Value | |
| Total | 24,333 | 48,386 | 31,820 | 60,037 | 34,221 | 62,922 |
| Group A - 7 EUs | 75 | 525 | 119 | 833 | 117 | 819 |
| Group B - 5 EUs | 1,462 | 7,310 | 1,235 | 6,175 | 935 | 4,675 |
| Group C - 3 EUs | 8,157 | 24,471 | 10,148 | 30,444 | 10,641 | 31,923 |
| Group D - 2 EUs | 1,443 | 2,886 | 2,267 | 4,534 | 2,977 | 5,954 |
| Group E - 1 EU | 13,196 | 13,196 | 18,051 | 18,051 | 19,551 | 19,551 |
For additional information on OSHA inspections and services please refer to the OSHA Inspection Fact Sheet for information on OSHA inspections, OSHA's Compliance Assistance Specialists and their services, and OSHA's free on-site assistance for small employers.
For information on employee rights, see the OSHA Worker webpage.
For information on employer responsibilities and other compliance assistance resources see the OSHA Help for Employers webpage.