Preliminary 2024 statistics indicate a noticeable drop in the number of deaths in the workplace, particularly in places that have focused enforcement resources provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor. In 2024, OSHA examined 826 workplace deaths, which is 11% less than in 2023 with 928 deaths. If excluding COVID-related deaths, this year’s number of workplace fatalities is the lowest since 2017, particularly for falls and trench collapses, the two most frequent causes of fatality in the workplace.
According to Douglas Parker, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, the current statistics are encouraging proof that tougher enforcement of OSHA compliance and cooperation between labor and employers can save lives. This outcome is also a product of the Biden-Harris administration’s worker-centered strategy. The same effect is seen in state program partners.
On May 1, 2023, OSHA introduced a National Emphasis Program created to avoid falls in the work area, which most often cause fatality and severe injury in the work area. That program seems to have succeeded as fall-related fatalities dropped by about 20%, from 234 in 2023 to 189 in 2024. There is a 15% year-over-year decline in deaths related to falls in state jurisdictions.
OSHA has performed comprehensive outreach and training and implemented a zero-tolerance policy for unsecured trenches. Violation reports have prompted speedy investigations and recommendations for criminal prosecution. Worker fatalities because of trench collapses have decreased by 70% from the 39 deaths in 2022 to 12 in 2024.
Although the preliminary statistics are encouraging, OSHA remarks that about 5,000 employees die annually in the U.S. because of mostly avoidable mishaps. Minimizing worker fatalities means taking on a strategy that makes employee health and protection a key value in all workplaces. Doing so can help deal with all the reasons and variables that bring about the avoidable death of workers on the job.