Every year, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) drops a list highlighting where industries are not meeting OSHA’s regulations. The list, the Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Workplace Violations, identifies the combined violations for all the industries regulated by OSHA for fiscal year 2025 (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025).
Printing, which falls under OSHA’s "general industry" regulations, had its own standout set of violations. For the printing industry, this list is more than just a ranking; it’s a roadmap for improving workplace safety and avoiding costly fines. Whether you are running a small shop or managing a large printing facility, use this list to audit your own safety practices.
Here are the top 10 violations OSHA found in printing operations this year:
1. Hazard communication (29 CFR 1910.1200) OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires information to be communicated to employees about the chemical hazards they are exposed to in the workplace and the protective measures taken to protect their health and safety. Common citations include not having a written HCS program, not having safety data sheets for all chemicals, the absence of employee training, and failing to have secondary container labels.
2. Powered industrial trucks (29 CFR 1910.178) Employees that operate forklifts or other industrial-powered vehicles, such as powered pallet jacks, must be initially trained and certified, and then reevaluated every three years. Safety violations include improper vehicle use, lack of training, and failing to recertify operators every three years.
3. Lockout/Tagout (29 CFR 1910.147) The lockout/tagout regulation protects employees from unexpected machine startups or hazardous releases during servicing and maintenance. Failing to lockout equipment, not having a written program, and not conducting annual inspections of machine-specific procedures are the most common violations.
4. Machine guarding (29 CFR 1910.212) OSHA has several standards to protect employees from exposure to hazards such as ingoing nip points, points of operation, flying sparks and chips, and other moving components. This regulation requires that physical guards be provided to protect employees from exposure and contact with the hazards associated with moving parts.
5. Electrical safety – general (29 CFR 1910.303) This regulation requires electric equipment to be free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm including guarding of live parts. The most-cited paragraph covers things like improper installation of an electrical box with the most common being using boxes with “knock outs” as pendant drops, missing breakers in a breaker box, running flexible cords through holes in walls, ceilings, or floors, not using ground fault circuit interrupters, and improperly using power strips. Another common violation is the failure to maintain access and a three-foot working space around electrical equipment.
6. Respiratory protection (29 CFR 1910.134) Failing to establish a written respiratory program was one of last year’s most common violations, followed by the failure to provide proper medical evaluations to the employees who use the respirators. Voluntary use of dust masks, N-95 respirators, and elastomeric respirators (e.g. the ones with cartridges) requires that employees be given a copy of Appendix D of the standard. Using elastomeric respirators also requires a company to have a partial written program that addresses medical evaluation and the care and use of respirators, plus a medical evaluation for the employee.
7. Flammable liquids (29 CFR 1910.106) The definition of flammable liquids is very broad and includes any chemical or blends of chemicals with a flashpoint below 199.4°F (or 93°C). The requirements for the classification, storage, and handling of these flammable liquids - such as grounding and bonding, storing them in a flammable materials cabinet or specially constructed room, and the size and type container they can be stored in depend upon the flashpoint and boiling point of the chemistry.
8. Personal protective equipment (29 CFR 1910.132) OSHA requires all employers to conduct a formal written workplace hazard assessment to determine what personal protective equipment (PPE) is required to protect employees from injuries. In addition, employers are required to provide the PPE and to train the employee in its proper use. Failure to conduct and certify the assessment is a commonly overlooked requirement.
9. Forms (Forms 300, 300A, 301) (29 CFR 1904.29) OSHA requires all employers with 10 or more employees to complete OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301 to track work-related injuries and illnesses. Form 300 is the ongoing Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, Form 301 is the detailed Injury and Illness Incident Report, or its equivalent, and Form 300A provides an annual summary for public posting and electronic submission. Common violations include misclassifying incidents (e.g., labeling recordable injuries as first aid only), late or missing entries on Forms 300 and 301, which must be completed within seven days, and failure to complete or post the Form 300A by the required February 1–April 30 window.
10. Eye and face protection. (29 CFR 1910.133) This standard is part of the PPE standard, and it requires that all employees who are exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation, are provided and use appropriate eye or face protection. Side eye protection is required when there is a hazard from flying objects. Notably, the employer does not have to pay for prescription eyewear. Common violations include not identifying the hazards and failing to require employees to wear eye and face protection. If a hazard is identified, eye and face protection is mandatory.
A New Addition to the Top Five
Following the usual pattern, the top five violations in 2025 shuffled around a bit as compared to 2024. However, the commonly cited violations mostly remained consistent. The one exception was the addition of Powered Industrial Trucks to the top five.
The regulations addressing machine safety - lockout/tagout standard and machine guarding remain the most frequently cited standards. These standards are a priority for OSHA because the printing industry is still considered a high hazard industry due to the severe injuries associated with equipment, such as amputations, crushing, and broken bones.
Hazard communication addressing chemical safety remains in the top five of all violations. This regulation has stubbornly remained in the top five even though it has been in place since 1987. It was revised in 2012 and most recently in 2024. It is not just the printing industry that has challenges with compliance, but many other industries also share the same difficulties.
Penalties Are Steep and Stacking Up
When conducting an inspection, OSHA tends to find multiple violations, and under the current enforcement guidance, field offices are instructed to itemize each violation and assign the maximum penalty. It is OSHA’s position that the penalties are not high enough to provide an incentive for companies to comply with the regulations. Given the serious nature of these violations, the average penalty imposed on printing operations remains high, ranging from $7,000-$10,000 for each violation. The highest penalty that can be imposed for a violation is $16,500. In the case of a repeat or willful violation, however, the maximum penalty can reach $165,514 for each violation.
Even though OSHA can reduce penalties for small businesses, many citations for printing operations will start with a total penalty range of $40,000-$45,000 and can be much higher for larger printing operations.
Use the List to Your Advantage
The Top 10 list isn’t just for information; it is a guide. Many of these violations are repeat offenders year after year, meaning OSHA will be looking closely at all of them. If your safety program covers these areas thoroughly, you are already ahead of the curve.
If not, take action. Review your programs, train your teams, and fix those areas that are not compliant. Safety is not just about avoiding fines; it is about protecting your team and your business.
The Alliance’s Government Affairs Department has many resources including written program templates for lockout/tagout and hazard communication designed to assist printing operations and their compliance programs. The iLEARNING+ platform provides a new training course on machine guarding, lockout/tagout, and hazard communication. Please contact Gary Jones at gjones@printing.org or Sara Osorio at sosorio@printing.org for assistance.
In this article, Gary Jones, Vice President of EHS Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance, addresses OSHA compliance. More information about OSHA can be found at Business Excellence-EHS Affairs or reach out to Gary should you have additional questions specific to how these issues may affect your business: gjones@printing.org. To become a member of the Alliance and learn more about how our subject matter experts can assist your company with services and resources such as those mentioned in this article, please contact the Alliance membership team: 888-385-3588 / membership@printing.org.