Federal OSHA

District of Columbia Safety Training and OSHA Tailgate Talks

Private employers in the District of Columbia fall under federal OSHA. Enforcement records show 982 inspections at private worksites in the District of Columbia opened from October 2020 to August 2026, with 668 citations.

Private employers
Federal OSHA
29 CFR
District government
No OSHA coverage
No State Plan for public employers
Private-sector inspections
982
Oct 2020 – August 2026
Trades ranked on own data
Pooled federal ranking
All federal OSHA states

Which safety rules apply in the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia has no OSHA-approved State Plan: private employers fall under federal OSHA and 29 CFR, and district government employers have no OSHA coverage, since only a State Plan covers public employers.

What gets cited in the District of Columbia, and what hurts people

Counts from U.S. Department of Labor OSHA enforcement records: inspections at private worksites in the District of Columbia opened from October 2020 to August 2026. Rankings and schedule data as of September 27, 2026.

The hazard cited most at private worksites in the District of Columbia is Fall protection & working at heights: 21% of the citations grouped by hazard, against 22% across federal OSHA states. Among the others, the hazard that stands out most is Electrical safety: 13% here, 2.3 times its share across federal OSHA states. The industry that stands out most is Construction: 54% of the District of Columbia’s citations, 1.4 times its share across federal OSHA states.

Hazards cited most at private worksites in the District of Columbia

  1. Fall protection & working at heights132 citations
  2. Ladder safety83 citations
  3. Electrical safety79 citations
  4. Scaffolds77 citations
  5. Personal protective equipment61 citations
  6. Hazard Communication (GHS labels & SDS)44 citations

93% of the 668 citations are under a standard the ranking can group by hazard.

Where the District of Columbia’s citations fall, by industry

  1. Construction54% · about 344 · 1.4×
  2. Residential & Commercial Services17% · about 106
  3. Healthcare5% · about 30 · 3.5×
  4. Janitorial & Facility Services4% · about 27 · 2.1×
  5. Food Service & Hospitality4% · about 27 · 2.0×
  6. Education3% · about 19 · 13.6×

By industry code; a code that fits two industries is split evenly. “×”: share here against the share across federal OSHA states.

How the schedule ranks trades for the District of Columbia

The schedule for the District of Columbia uses the ranking pooled across federal OSHA states (246,599 citations since October 2020) for the 147 trades with 150 or more pooled citations. The other 115 use the national pattern, built from 525,000+ OSHA citations nationwide, the most reliable data available for them. 96% of the District of Columbia’s citations, by industry code, are in trades ranked on the pooled data. The District of Columbia’s own counts show where that ranking matters most here; they don’t change its order.

Trades that stand out in the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia’s most-cited industry, then the ones over-represented here, each with its most-cited trade (counted by the industry codes that belong to that trade).

Construction

Drywall & Framing

The Construction trade with the most citations at private worksites in the District of Columbia: about 134 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Construction makes up 1.4 times as large a share of the District of Columbia’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

District of Columbia citations

Plain counts for this trade since October 2020 (not weighted)

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 43
  2. 2Ladder safety · 35
  3. 3Personal protective equipment · 21

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

12,688 citations, about 40 deaths, about 13 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights
  2. 2Ladder safety
  3. 3Personal protective equipment

Residential & Commercial Services

Residential Roofing Repair

The Residential & Commercial Services trade with the most citations at private worksites in the District of Columbia: about 46 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade.

District of Columbia citations

Plain counts for this trade since October 2020 (not weighted)

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 21
  2. 2Ladder safety · 10
  3. 3Personal protective equipment · 8

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

47,343 citations, about 198 deaths, about 44 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights
  2. 2Ladder safety
  3. 3Personal protective equipment

Education

College & University

The Education trade with the most citations at private worksites in the District of Columbia: about 20 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Education makes up 13.6 times as large a share of the District of Columbia’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

District of Columbia citations

Plain counts for this trade since October 2020 (not weighted)

  1. 1Emergency action & fire prevention · 5
  2. 2Fire extinguishers · 4
  3. 3Hazard Communication (GHS labels & SDS) · 2

NationwideDrives the schedule

958 citations, about 9 deaths, about 14 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights
  2. 2Electrical safety
  3. 3Slips, trips & walking surfaces

How My Safety Solution works in the District of Columbia

  • When you set up your company, you pick the District of Columbia. The app then applies federal OSHA and builds your tailgate talk schedule from the ranking pooled from federal OSHA states.
  • Each talk references the regulations it’s built on, from Cal/OSHA (Title 8) and federal OSHA (29 CFR). Title 8 applies only in California.
  • With no federal standard for them, heat illness prevention (May 1 – Sep 30), wildfire smoke protection (Jul 1 – Oct 31) and cold & wet weather work (Nov 1 – Feb 28) are placed in season for outdoor trades as practice guidance; HazCom, emergency action and injury reporting, once a year.
  • Keep your OSHA 300 log, 300A summary and 301 incident reports in the app, built around 29 CFR 1904. Guidance, not legal advice.
  • Help with a written program or a federal OSHA citation: consulting, as advice and guidance, requested from your account. Our team’s credentials include CHST, OSHA 500, OSHA 10 & 30.

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