OSHA Budget Cuts Threaten Decades of Worker Safety Progress

Proposed budget cuts to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by the Trump Administration could have devastating consequences for workplace safety across the country. With only about 2,000 inspectors covering more than 8 million job sites, OSHA’s capacity to enforce critical safety standards is already strained. The number of inspectors per million workers dropped from 14.8 in 1980 to just 5.6 by 2018. Further reductions would weaken hazard identification efforts and delay response times in industries like construction, where 1,123 workers died in 2023 alone.

At a time when OSHA regulations are evolving, especially with updates expected under OSHA regulations 2025, slashing budgets undercuts efforts to create safer workplaces. Safety training programs, emergency preparedness plans, and PPE requirements are only effective when backed by consistent inspections and enforcement. In 2023, OSHA issued over 40,000 citations, with more than 60 percent classified as serious violations. Many of these were related to fall protection, a leading cause of preventable injuries and fatalities. According to the Department of Labor’s CLEAR initiative, facilities that received inspections and penalties saw injury rates fall by up to 24 percent.

Smaller businesses, which often rely on OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program for no-cost support, would be especially affected. This program conducted 24,000 visits in 2023, helping employers improve compliance using resources like the OSHA compliance checklist and identifying occupational health risks before they resulted in harm. Without this guidance, many businesses may struggle to manage risk or respond effectively to workplace hazards.

Cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) would further erode the country’s safety infrastructure. NIOSH plays a central role in researching job-related risks, improving PPE standards, and developing workplace safety tips based on real-world data. Its work has supported improvements in high-risk sectors like logging, which had a fatality rate of 82.2 per 100,000 workers in 2023. NIOSH research also helps power new technology to reduce chemical exposure, combat heat stress, evaluate ergonomic posture, and support compliance.

Since OSHA’s establishment in 1971, workplace fatalities have decreased by more than 60 percent and injury rates have dropped by nearly 40 percent. Despite this progress, 5,486 workers still lost their lives on the job in 2023 and 2.9 million more were injured. These numbers are not just statistics. They represent real people and families impacted by preventable incidents.

Workplace safety tips, safety technology, and compliance tools all matter, but they are only effective when tied to a well-funded system of oversight and enforcement. Budget cuts to OSHA and NIOSH put all of that at risk. Congress must act to ensure these agencies are equipped to do their jobs and to protect the lives and livelihoods of America’s workers.