Federal OSHA

Illinois Safety Training and OSHA Tailgate Talks

Private employers in Illinois fall under federal OSHA; state and local government employers fall under Illinois OSHA. Enforcement records show 13,939 inspections at private worksites in Illinois opened from October 2020 to September 2026, with 23,708 citations.

Private employers
Federal OSHA
29 CFR
State and local government
Illinois OSHA
Public-sector State Plan
Private-sector inspections
13,939
Oct 2020 – September 2026
Trades ranked on own data
Pooled federal ranking
All federal OSHA states

Which safety rules apply in Illinois

Illinois has a State Plan, Illinois OSHA, but it covers state and local government employers only. Private employers in Illinois fall under federal OSHA and its standards in 29 CFR.

Illinois OSHA is run by the Illinois Department of Labor, Division of Occupational Safety and Health. When a public employer sets up its company in the app, it picks the public sector in its company settings, and the app applies Illinois OSHA.

What gets cited in Illinois, and what hurts people

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

The hazard cited most at private worksites in Illinois is Fall protection & working at heights: 27% of the citations grouped by hazard, against 22% across federal OSHA states. Among the others, the hazard that stands out most is Silica dust: 4% here, 1.8 times its share across federal OSHA states. The industry that stands out most is Residential & Commercial Services: 26% of Illinois’s citations, 1.4 times its share across federal OSHA states.

Hazards cited most at private worksites in Illinois

  1. Fall protection & working at heights5,789 citations
  2. Personal protective equipment2,307 citations
  3. Ladder safety1,569 citations
  4. Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy)1,333 citations
  5. Scaffolds1,204 citations
  6. Forklifts & powered industrial trucks1,056 citations

92% of the 23,708 citations are under a standard the ranking can group by hazard.

Where Illinois’s citations fall, by industry

  1. Construction42% · about 8,659
  2. Residential & Commercial Services26% · about 5,304 · 1.4×
  3. Manufacturing12% · about 2,586
  4. Warehousing & Distribution3% · about 687
  5. Utilities & Public Works2% · about 517
  6. Food Service & Hospitality2% · about 412

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 Illinois

The schedule for Illinois 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. 97% of Illinois’s citations, by industry code, are in trades ranked on the pooled data. Illinois’s own counts show where that ranking matters most here; they don’t change its order.

Trades that stand out in Illinois

Illinois’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

Roofing

The Construction trade with the most citations at private worksites in Illinois: about 7,599 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade.

Illinois citations

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

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 3,796
  2. 2Personal protective equipment · 1,221
  3. 3Ladder safety · 1,013

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

Residential & Commercial Services

Painting - Commercial

The Residential & Commercial Services trade with the most citations at private worksites in Illinois: about 114 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Residential & Commercial Services makes up 1.4 times as large a share of Illinois’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

Illinois citations

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

  1. 1Scaffolds · 23
  2. 2Fall protection & working at heights · 18
  3. 3Aerial lifts & elevating work platforms · 16

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

1,702 citations, about 31 deaths, about 4 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights
  2. 2Flammables, welding & hot work
  3. 3Scaffolds

Manufacturing

Metal Fabrication & Welding

The Manufacturing trade with the most citations at private worksites in Illinois: about 603 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade.

Illinois citations

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

  1. 1Machine guarding · 101
  2. 2Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy) · 96
  3. 3Hazard Communication (GHS labels & SDS) · 62

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

2,349 citations, about 12 deaths, about 22 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Machine guarding
  2. 2Caught-in & caught-between
  3. 3Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy)

Warehousing & Distribution

General Warehousing

The Warehousing & Distribution trade with the most citations at private worksites in Illinois: about 179 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade.

Illinois citations

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

  1. 1Forklifts & powered industrial trucks · 67
  2. 2Electrical safety · 20
  3. 3Reporting serious injuries & recordkeeping · 15

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

2,762 citations, about 30 deaths, about 51 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Forklifts & powered industrial trucks
  2. 2Electrical safety
  3. 3Caught-in & caught-between

State and local government employers: Illinois OSHA

Public employers under Illinois OSHA get a ranking built from 2,084 public-sector inspections in Illinois since October 2020 for 8 trades, the ones with 150 or more public-sector citations. The others use the national pattern, built from 525,000+ OSHA citations nationwide, the most reliable data available for them. The most-cited trades:

Utilities & Public Works

Water Treatment & Distribution

The Utilities & Public Works trade with the most Illinois citations in the plan data: 1,304 since October 2020.

Your schedule uses Illinois's own ranking (1,304 citations and about 1 death since October 2020). The national ranking is shown alongside.

Illinois dataDrives the schedule

1,304 citations, about 1 death since October 2020

  1. 1Confined spaces · 75 citations, about 1 death
  2. 2Personal protective equipment · 171 citations
  3. 3Electrical safety · 143 citations

Nationwide

4,383 citations, about 16 deaths, about 11 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Electrical safety · 744 citations, about 3 deaths
  2. 2Struck-by & falling objects · 0 citations, about 3 deaths
  3. 3Mobile equipment, haulage & jobsite vehicles · 2 citations, about 1 death

Healthcare

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

The Healthcare trade with the most Illinois citations in the plan data: 1,047 since October 2020.

Your schedule uses Illinois's own ranking (about 1,047 citations, about 2 deaths and about 2 hospitalizations since October 2020). The national ranking is shown alongside.

Illinois dataDrives the schedule

1,047 citations, about 2 deaths, about 2 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Flammables, welding & hot work · 6 citations, about 1 death
  2. 2Respiratory protection · 330 citations
  3. 3Bloodborne pathogens & infectious disease · 151 citations

Nationwide

2,408 citations, about 17 deaths, about 11 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Flammables, welding & hot work · 22 citations, about 6 deaths
  2. 2Respiratory protection · 621 citations
  3. 3Bloodborne pathogens & infectious disease · 335 citations

How My Safety Solution works in Illinois

  • When you set up your company, you pick Illinois. 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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