OSHA Inspections and Citations in 2022
Federal and state-plan OSHA inspections, citations and penalties recorded in 2022.
OSHA and state-plan agencies opened 69,524 inspections in 2022, 13.4% more than in 2021, and issued 122,587 citation items carrying $280,555,951 in current penalties. California recorded the most inspections (6,975), followed by Washington and Texas. Fall Protection - Duty to Have Fall Protection (1926.501) was the most cited standard, with 8,320 citations. Planned inspections were the most common type (24,869), followed by complaint inspections (16,682).
Inspections and states count by year opened. Citations, penalties and standards count by year issued. Do not add the two groups together.
Most cited standards
| # | Standard | Citations | Penalties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1926.501Fall Protection - Duty to Have Fall Protection | 8,320 | $42,759,914 |
| 2 | 1910.1200Hazard Communication | 7,008 | $5,587,524 |
| 3 | 1910.134Respiratory Protection | 5,028 | $6,349,492 |
| 4 | 1910.147Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) | 3,815 | $17,075,904 |
| 5 | 1926.1053Ladders (Construction) | 3,636 | $8,940,565 |
| 6 | 1910.178Powered Industrial Trucks | 3,208 | $8,119,407 |
| 7 | 1926.451Scaffolding - General Requirements | 3,182 | $8,061,195 |
| 8 | 1926.503Fall Protection - Training Requirements | 3,142 | $4,480,018 |
| 9 | 1910.303Electrical - General Requirements | 2,587 | $5,362,435 |
| 10 | 1910.305Electrical - Wiring Methods, Components, and Equipment | 2,552 | $2,799,293 |
Federal standards combine all of their subsections.
See the top 50 standards cited in 2022 →Inspections opened by type
Type labels as defined in DOL's OSHA enforcement data.
Inspections opened by state
2 inspections with other or missing state codes are not listed.
State Plan: OSHA-approved plan covering private and public employers. Public only: State Plan for state and local government workers only. No plan: federal OSHA has jurisdiction over private sector workplaces. Source: osha.gov/stateplans.
Other OSHA records for 2022
Severe injury reports
Employer reports of an amputation, in-patient hospitalization or loss of an eye, by event date. Federal OSHA jurisdiction only; incidents in State Plan states are not included, per OSHA. Source: osha.gov.
Injury and illness summaries (Form 300A)
Calendar year 2022 data as submitted by employers. Only establishments meeting OSHA's industry and size criteria submit. Source: osha.gov.
Inspections opened per year, 1970 to 2026
Questions about 2022
How many OSHA inspections were opened in 2022?
69,524 federal and state-plan inspections were opened in 2022.
Which OSHA standard was cited most in 2022?
Fall Protection - Duty to Have Fall Protection (1926.501), with 8,320 citation items issued in 2022.
Which state had the most OSHA inspections in 2022?
California, with 6,975 inspections opened, followed by Washington (5,088).
How does 2022 compare with 2021?
Inspections opened went from 61,297 to 69,524 (+13.4%). Citation items issued went from 108,804 to 122,587 (+12.7%).
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All years
Having OSHA inspection records is common for businesses in regulated industries.
Data Source and Methodology
DOL source dataData on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement database, accessed via the DOL public data API. Records are refreshed from published DOL data. We strive for accuracy, but errors in data processing or establishment grouping are possible. Penalty amounts reflect the latest penalty amounts on record in the DOL database and may differ from initial assessments or final amounts after informal conference, settlement, or judicial review. Company pages group inspection records by normalized employer name, city, and state as reported in OSHA records. That grouping is deterministic and non-fuzzy, but it is not a universal legal-entity identifier. If you believe any record is inaccurate, please report it and we will investigate. This product uses the DOL Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the DOL. For official and authoritative records, visit osha.gov.