Preliminary numbers from fiscal year 2018 released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have revealed the most common safety citations across industries. Employers in Connecticut that the agency cited likely failed to provide protective gear, train workers or maintain equipment.
The number one type of citation involved the failure to provide fall protection. Roofers and other construction contractors received the bulk of the 7,270 violations. Another 1,982 violations emerged from employers that did not train workers properly about fall protection strategies like guardrails or body harnesses.
Failing to equip workers with eye or face protection was a new entry on the agency’s top 10 list of violations. These failures exposed workers to flying objects, caustic substances and gases that could harm the eyes and face and resulted in 1,536 violations. Many safety problems with equipment arose from employers failing to establish lockout or tagout systems to stop machines from hurting workers. Missing machine guards also earned many companies citations. Other violations involved damaged forklifts that should have been removed from service and broken ladders.
When employers do not consistently address workplace hazards and train people to perform their tasks safely, they create unsafe working conditions. A person with concerns about safety at work might wish to speak with an attorney about reporting the problem to regulators. A workplace accident resulting from unsafe conditions could also result in workers’ compensation benefits being available for those who are harmed as a result. Workers who have been injured in such a manner might want to have legal assistance when preparing and filing the required claim documentation.
