By Benita Mehta,
ISHN Chief Editor
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EDITORIAL
By Benita Mehta,
ISHN Chief Editor
Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries at Longtime Low, 2026 BLS Report Reveals
T
here has been some news of note from OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the last couple months.
Each year, the BLS releases the most recent data of worker injuries and fatalities. Historically, the data has been released in November but was delayed this time around due to the government shutdown in fall 2025. This most recent data covers 2024.
According to the latest BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) released on January 22, 2026, the overall nonfatal injury rate in private industry hit a 20-year low of 2.3 cases per 100 workers.
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, released February 19, 2026, shows that 5,070 workers died from on-the-job injuries in 2024, a 4 percent decrease from the previous year. The national fatal injury rate also declined to 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.
This month, I wrote an article using the BLS numbers to break down
Photo: Thank you for your assistant / iStock / Getty Images Plus
OSHA Inspections Drop in 2025
The New York Times recently reported that OSHA inspections have decreased since President Donald Trump took over.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) publicly released the data that shows a 20 percent decrease in work site inspections by OSHA during a six-month period in 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.
Warren’s office said that the data shows that between April and September 2024 there were 29,229 inspections, compared with 23,531 during the same time frame last year. In its 2026 budget proposal, the Trump administration said OSHA would conduct 24,929 inspections during the fiscal year.
In a letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and David Keeling, OSHA’s assistant secretary, Warren and five other Senate Democrats said that inspections over that same period yielded 42 percent fewer “willful violations.”
Included in the letter were Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (MD), Tammy Baldwin (IL), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Alex Padilla (CA), Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Ron Wyden (OR). They have launched an investigation into whether the administration may be discouraging inspectors from enforcing workplace safety laws and whether the apparent decrease in enforcement points to broader plans to eliminate key safety regulations.
The government has not released data for the number of inspections for the entire 2025 fiscal year. Labor advocates are concerned that the Trump administration is relaxing oversight of companies and increasing the potential for serious injuries and deaths, according to The New York Times.
The drop in inspections comes as the Trump has rolled back regulations for worker safety and protections, including efforts to close OSHA offices and offices that protect coal miners across the country. The Labor Department has also said it plans to pull back a requirement that employers provide appropriate lighting at construction sites and ease evaluation mandates for protective equipment for workers regularly exposed to dangerous chemicals, said The New York Times article.
In the letter, the senators said: “You are not only rolling back rules that protect workers — OSHA also appears to be taking a lighter hand in enforcing even the rules that still exist.”
The group went on to warn lawmakers that “If employers know that they are unlikely to face hefty fines, they may be less likely to adhere to safety standards that keep American workers safe in their places of employment.”
March 2026
VOL. 60 NO. 2