Federal OSHA

Massachusetts Safety Training and OSHA Tailgate Talks

Private employers in Massachusetts fall under federal OSHA; state and local government employers fall under Massachusetts DLS (public sector). Enforcement records show 9,641 inspections at private worksites in Massachusetts opened from October 2020 to September 2026, with 11,537 citations.

Private employers
Federal OSHA
29 CFR
State and local government
Massachusetts DLS (public sector)
Public-sector State Plan
Private-sector inspections
9,641
Oct 2020 – September 2026
Trades ranked on own data
Pooled federal ranking
All federal OSHA states

Which safety rules apply in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has a State Plan, Massachusetts DLS (public sector), but it covers state and local government employers only. Private employers in Massachusetts fall under federal OSHA and its standards in 29 CFR.

Massachusetts DLS (public sector) is run by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards, Workplace Safety and Health Program. When a public employer sets up its company in the app, it picks the public sector in its company settings, and the app applies Massachusetts DLS (public sector).

What gets cited in Massachusetts, and what hurts people

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

The hazard cited most at private worksites in Massachusetts is Fall protection & working at heights: 26% of the citations grouped by hazard, against 22% across federal OSHA states. Among the others, the hazard that stands out most is Safety program & training (29 CFR 1926.20, .21): 5% here, 1.8 times its share across federal OSHA states. The industry that stands out most is Janitorial & Facility Services: 3% of Massachusetts’s citations, 1.6 times its share across federal OSHA states.

Hazards cited most at private worksites in Massachusetts

  1. Fall protection & working at heights2,759 citations
  2. Ladder safety867 citations
  3. Scaffolds819 citations
  4. Personal protective equipment615 citations
  5. Forklifts & powered industrial trucks544 citations
  6. Safety program & training (29 CFR 1926.20, .21)544 citations

90% of the 11,537 citations are under a standard the ranking can group by hazard.

Where Massachusetts’s citations fall, by industry

  1. Construction41% · about 4,208
  2. Residential & Commercial Services21% · about 2,204
  3. Manufacturing12% · about 1,231
  4. Warehousing & Distribution4% · about 376
  5. Janitorial & Facility Services3% · about 314 · 1.6×
  6. Food Service & Hospitality3% · about 287 · 1.3×

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 Massachusetts

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

Trades that stand out in Massachusetts

Massachusetts’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 Massachusetts: about 2,798 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade.

Massachusetts citations

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

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 1,439
  2. 2Ladder safety · 423
  3. 3Personal protective equipment · 230

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

Janitorial & Facility Services

Commercial Janitorial & Cleaning

The Janitorial & Facility Services trade with the most citations at private worksites in Massachusetts: about 36 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Janitorial & Facility Services makes up 1.6 times as large a share of Massachusetts’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

Massachusetts citations

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

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 7
  2. 2Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy) · 7
  3. 3Personal protective equipment · 4

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

398 citations, about 12 deaths, about 8 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights
  2. 2Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy)
  3. 3Chemical exposure, ventilation & eyewash

Food Service & Hospitality

Bakery & Specialty Food Production

The Food Service & Hospitality trade with the most citations at private worksites in Massachusetts: about 127 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Food Service & Hospitality makes up 1.3 times as large a share of Massachusetts’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

Massachusetts citations

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

  1. 1Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy) · 40
  2. 2Machine guarding · 16
  3. 3Chemical exposure, ventilation & eyewash · 12

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

417 citations, about 3 deaths, about 11 hospitalizations since October 2020

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

Residential & Commercial Services

Painting - Commercial

The Residential & Commercial Services trade with the most citations at private worksites in Massachusetts: about 79 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade.

Massachusetts citations

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

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 24
  2. 2Ladder safety · 17
  3. 3Aerial lifts & elevating work platforms · 7

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

State and local government employers: Massachusetts DLS (public sector)

Public employers under Massachusetts DLS (public sector) get a ranking built from 826 public-sector inspections in Massachusetts 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:

Education

K-12 Public School

The Education trade with the most Massachusetts citations in the plan data: 392 since October 2020.

Your schedule uses Massachusetts's own ranking (392 citations since October 2020). The national ranking is shown alongside.

Massachusetts dataDrives the schedule

392 citations since October 2020

  1. 1Electrical safety · 67 citations
  2. 2Personal protective equipment · 62 citations
  3. 3Fall protection & working at heights · 44 citations

Nationwide

4,812 citations, about 19 deaths, about 31 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 188 citations, about 4 deaths
  2. 2Electrical safety · 1,111 citations
  3. 3Slips, trips & walking surfaces · 179 citations, about 3 deaths

How My Safety Solution works in Massachusetts

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

About our safety consulting

Start your Massachusetts schedule

15-day free trial. No credit card required.

Create Account / Start Free TrialSign In

More states and next steps

Neighboring states