
OSHA Construction Penalties in FY2025: $140.5 Million Proposed, $108.9 Million on the Books
Federal OSHA proposed $140.5 million in penalties to construction employers in FY2025. After informal settlements and contests, $108.9 million remains on record, 22.5% less. Half of the cases were cut, by a median 40%, and the other half weren't touched. Where you are, and what you were cited for, changes the odds.

HazCom on the Jobsite: What OSHA Actually Cited in FY2025 Construction Inspections
On a construction site, OSHA writes the general industry number: 698 HazCom citations under 1910.1200 in FY2025 against 14 under 1926.59, and 356 respirator citations under 1910.134 against none under 1926.103. The paragraph cited most wasn't a missing label. It was the written program.

Your Crew Doesn't Have Email. Your Safety Software Demands It.
OSHA never asks whether a worker has an inbox. Most safety platforms do. The workaround crews reach for, one shared login for the whole trailer, destroys the one thing the records were supposed to prove: who did what.

The Job Ended. Who Can Still Ask for Your SDS?
When a crew demobilizes, the instinct is to shut off access. OSHA's text runs the other way: a safety data sheet is an exposure record, and the people who can ask for it include the ones who no longer work for you.

Does OSHA Require Safety Data Sheets in Spanish?
No for the document, yes for the training. 29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(2) requires the SDS in English and only permits other languages; the same standard, OSHA's 2010 policy statement and the 2026 HazCom directive require training in a language the worker understands. Which one an inspector cites, and what a defensible bilingual program looks like.

Does OSHA Require You to Separate Incompatible Chemicals?
Mostly no — and knowing exactly where the 'no' ends is what keeps you off a citation. The Hazard Communication Standard imposes no storage segregation rule. The explicit federal separation sentences are rare and narrow. The segregation charts your crew follows come from fire code. And OSHA can still cite the pile of oxidizers next to the solvents, through the General Duty Clause.

How Often Do Slings Need to Be Inspected? What OSHA Actually Requires
Each day before use by a competent person designated by the employer, in construction and general industry alike, every shift for all rigging on a construction site, and more often when conditions warrant. OSHA's sling rules in 29 CFR 1926.251 and 1910.184 also carry removal-from-service criteria with hard numbers, an identification tag requirement, and exactly one written record: the thorough inspection of alloy steel chain slings.

Is a Scissor Lift an Aerial Lift? OSHA Says It's a Scaffold
OSHA answered this in writing in 2000: a scissor lift is not an aerial lift. It is a mobile scaffold, covered by 29 CFR 1926.451 and 1926.452(w). That one classification decides whether your crew ties off, what training the operator needs, who inspects the machine and against which checklist.

Is There a Passing Score for an OSHA Forklift Evaluation?
No. 29 CFR 1910.178(l) contains no percentage, no grade and no pass mark — and the '80% to pass' number the training market sells can quietly convert a mandatory retraining trigger into a green light. What the rule actually demands is demonstrated competence, observed in the workplace, certified by name and date.