Federal OSHA

West Virginia Safety Training and OSHA Tailgate Talks

Private employers in West Virginia fall under federal OSHA. Enforcement records show 1,879 inspections at private worksites in West Virginia opened from October 2020 to September 2026, with 1,428 citations.

Private employers
Federal OSHA
29 CFR
State and local government
No OSHA coverage
No State Plan for public employers
Private-sector inspections
1,879
Oct 2020 – September 2026
Trades ranked on own data
Pooled federal ranking
All federal OSHA states

Which safety rules apply in West Virginia

West Virginia has no OSHA-approved State Plan: private employers fall under federal OSHA and 29 CFR, and state and local government employers have no OSHA coverage, since only a State Plan covers public employers.

What gets cited in West Virginia, and what hurts people

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

The hazard cited most at private worksites in West Virginia is Fall protection & working at heights: 19% of the citations grouped by hazard, against 22% across federal OSHA states. Among the others, the hazard that stands out most is Hand & power tools, grinders: 4% here, 3.6 times its share across federal OSHA states. The industry that stands out most is Agriculture: 7% of West Virginia’s citations, 6.0 times its share across federal OSHA states.

Hazards cited most at private worksites in West Virginia

  1. Fall protection & working at heights238 citations
  2. Reporting serious injuries & recordkeeping94 citations
  3. Machine guarding92 citations
  4. Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy)91 citations
  5. Hazard Communication (GHS labels & SDS)80 citations
  6. Ladder safety79 citations

87% of the 1,428 citations are under a standard the ranking can group by hazard.

Where West Virginia’s citations fall, by industry

  1. Construction25% · about 311
  2. Manufacturing23% · about 280 · 1.3×
  3. Residential & Commercial Services14% · about 176
  4. Agriculture7% · about 88 · 6.0×
  5. Warehousing & Distribution5% · about 56 · 1.2×
  6. Healthcare3% · about 44 · 2.6×

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 West Virginia

The schedule for West Virginia 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. 86% of West Virginia’s citations, by industry code, are in trades ranked on the pooled data. West Virginia’s own counts show where that ranking matters most here; they don’t change its order.

Trades that stand out in West Virginia

West Virginia’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 West Virginia: about 235 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade.

West Virginia citations

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

  1. 1Fall protection & working at heights · 123
  2. 2Ladder safety · 50
  3. 3Safety program & training (29 CFR 1926.20, .21) · 21

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

Agriculture

Forestry & Logging

The Agriculture trade with the most citations at private worksites in West Virginia: about 87 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Agriculture makes up 6.0 times as large a share of West Virginia’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

West Virginia citations

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

  1. 1Hazard Communication (GHS labels & SDS) · 7
  2. 2Reporting serious injuries & recordkeeping · 5
  3. 3Personal protective equipment · 3

NationwideDrives the schedule

243 citations, about 61 deaths, about 17 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Struck-by & falling objects
  2. 2Tree work, trimming & felling
  3. 3Electrical safety

Manufacturing

Wood Products & Furniture

The Manufacturing trade with the most citations at private worksites in West Virginia: about 103 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Manufacturing makes up 1.3 times as large a share of West Virginia’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

West Virginia citations

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

  1. 1Machine guarding · 24
  2. 2Lockout/tagout (hazardous energy) · 21
  3. 3Reporting serious injuries & recordkeeping · 9

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

2,465 citations, about 18 deaths, about 36 hospitalizations since October 2020

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

Healthcare

Long-Term Care & Skilled Nursing

The Healthcare trade with the most citations at private worksites in West Virginia: about 22 since October 2020, at employers whose industry code belongs to this trade. Healthcare makes up 2.6 times as large a share of West Virginia’s citations as across federal OSHA states.

West Virginia citations

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

  1. 1Respiratory protection · 11
  2. 2Reporting serious injuries & recordkeeping · 7
  3. 3Hand & power tools, grinders · 1

Federal OSHA statesDrives the schedule

953 citations, about 4 deaths, about 2 hospitalizations since October 2020

  1. 1Respiratory protection
  2. 2Fall protection & working at heights
  3. 3Bloodborne pathogens & infectious disease

How My Safety Solution works in West Virginia

  • When you set up your company, you pick West Virginia. 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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