Business owners are regularly inundated by the phrase “workplace safety,” so much that some start to tune it out. While it’s understandable that this reaction to workplace safety might’ve been triggered by inundation, it’s still extremely critical that business owners treat workplace safety with the uttermost importance. In addition, the Federal Government has established several occupational safety standards. Business owners must abide by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules or face penalties. If you’re considering enrolling in an OSHA training course as a business owner to get the hang of worker safety, below are some important workplace statistics you should be familiar with.
General Statistics
The data below, compiled by reputable government organizations like the BLS and OSHA, represents the entire American workforce across all industries and demographics.
- The average OSHA fine is just over $1000. The last thing your company needs right now is to pay a $1,028 fine because of cash flow concerns. But in 2010, the typical penalty imposed on companies disregarded OSHA rules.
- According to The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), it administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws and covers workplace activities for 150 million workers.
- In 2020, 4,764 fatal occupational safety events were reported. This computes to an average of 3.4 fatalities per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee. This 2020 figure is a 10.7% drop from 2019 when 5,333 fatal workplace accidents were reported.
- Fall protection in construction is the most common OSHA violation.
- From 2009 through 2019, practically every year saw an increase in preventable fatalities. The COVID-19 epidemic was a major factor in this statistic’s 10 percent decline from 2019 to 2020. That said, it only affected the overall number of hours worked.
Worker Statistics
Over the past several years, there have been significant changes in the field of workplace safety. These current data points were gathered by Alert Media for their 2022 State of Employee Safety Report.
- When asked what elements may make them most inclined to stay at their current job, respondents ranked safety over money. Employees look for employment with greater salaries, but many may be surprised to learn that employees also prioritize a sense of safety when deciding on their next steps in the workplace.
- The U.S. labor force shrank from 158.7 million workers in 2019 to 148.9 million in 2020. Workers left the job force to care for children or another family because they were sick or dead or thought the existing options were not interesting enough.
Are you an entrepreneur looking to learn about worker safety practices? Sing up for an OSHA training course by contacting ETC Compliance Solutions today!
