OSHA has issued millions of dollars in fines to companies operating in workplaces across the United States in 2025. Citations and fines range from fall protection violations and housekeeping hazards to machine safety and energy control (lockout/tagout) compliance issues, to name a few. These OSHA citations and fines make for great newspaper headlines and public accountability, but they also pale in comparison to the costs that their underlying risks create: costs that don’t end with lost productivity, workers’ compensation claims, and legal fees. Ergonomic risks are no exception.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which include strains, sprains, back injuries, and repetitive motion injuries, are among the leading causes of workplace injury and lost time across nearly every industry. OSHA citations (and fines) that are directly related to ergonomic hazards, however, are rare. This gap presents a golden opportunity for employers to prevent injuries and hidden costs while also minimizing (or avoiding entirely) the likelihood of future OSHA citations and fines.
In this post, we’ll look at the connection between OSHA fines and ergonomic hazards in the workplace, which industries' ergonomic risk factors are most prevalent, and what you can do about them.
OSHA has its hands full with hundreds of thousands of workplaces across the country, and so its enforcement priorities are generally targeted at the most common and dangerous hazards. The leading citations, year to date, address fall protection, machine safety (lock-out/tag-out and guarding), respiratory protection, and record-keeping violations. OSHA is also still paying close attention to overexertion and improper lifting incidents, which are frequently caused by or compounded by ergonomic factors.
OSHA’s attention to the entire safety and health program is good news for ergonomic injuries, as they present a high hidden cost to employers who proactively implement a comprehensive safety and health program. Although OSHA continues to prioritize ergonomic injuries, there is no federal standard dedicated to ergonomic risk assessment, control, and prevention. Under the OSHA General Duty Clause, employers have a duty to provide a workplace free of “hazards that are recognized as causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” Proving that a violation of the General Duty Clause has occurred requires a significant burden of proof, including strong evidence to demonstrate that the employer failed to act and that the ergonomic hazard was recognized by either industry-wide standards or the employer.
The lack of ergonomic-specific OSHA enforcement should not be confused with a lack of ergonomic risk or costs in general, however. On the contrary, musculoskeletal injuries are one of the primary causes of lost productivity and lost-time injuries, and therefore a major cost driver.
MSDs account for nearly one-third of all lost-time injuries. Warehousing, healthcare, and food processing operations see especially high rates of MSDs due to the physical demands of their workforces, including frequent heavy and repetitive lifting, awkward postures, and other factors.
So where does this leave employers when it comes to OSHA fines? Despite OSHA’s efforts, ergonomic injuries continue to run rampant. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published last year, OSHA issued only 11 ergonomic-related citations in warehousing and last-mile delivery sectors between 2018 and 2023, a period in which more than 2,500 violations in these sectors were cited.
Why so few? As mentioned earlier, OSHA does not have a specific ergonomic standard, and citations issued have to prove that an ergonomic condition can cause a serious injury or death and that the hazard is recognized. The level of proof needed to demonstrate a violation of the General Duty Clause presents a high threshold for inspectors, so many OSHA visits may include ergonomic risk factors that may or may not eventually lead to a fine but can still result in costly injuries and lost productivity.
Employers, then, should not treat OSHA citations as a proxy for ergonomic risk in the workplace. In fact, by proactively identifying and mitigating ergonomic hazards, you can help reduce injuries and hidden costs while also lowering (or eliminating entirely) the possibility of future OSHA citations and fines.
Even though OSHA citations for ergonomic hazards are rare, some industries are far more likely to have the root risk factors that contribute to injuries and therefore citations and fines. By identifying where ergonomic injuries are most likely to occur, employers can better prioritize their mitigation efforts.
Warehouses and distribution centers are a hotbed of ergonomic risk factors, from heavy and repetitive lifting and carrying to repetitive bending and reaching and sustained body twisting (such as driving a forklift backward). Manual pushing and pulling of heavy, full pallets, as well as using manual pallet jacks, also contribute to the risk of ergonomic injuries, not to mention the fast-paced work environment.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, MSDs account for nearly 40% of all lost-time injuries in the warehousing sector, so there’s a high hidden cost to employers.
Manual lifting and lowering, pushing and pulling, carrying, and repositioning heavy loads repeatedly can quickly lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the lower back, shoulders, and arms.
In warehouses and manufacturing plants, improperly designed workstations and excessive reaching (either above shoulder level or below knee level) are also ergonomic risk factors that contribute to MSDs and OSHA penalties.
Countermeasures: Use mechanical lifts and repositioners (scissor lifts, motorized pallet jacks, pallet positioners, motorized conveyors, adjustable height shelving, etc.) and rotate job tasks.
*Learn more about how ergonomic risks and OSHA citations in warehouses in our upcoming dedicated blog on this topic.
Healthcare workers face ergonomic challenges on the job that you don’t often see in manufacturing or warehouses. Patient handling tasks such as lifting, transferring, and repositioning patients and residents are highly stressful for the back, shoulders, and arms. Nurses, therapists, and orderlies may perform these tasks hundreds of times a day, increasing MSD risk.
Enforcement agencies like OSHA cite hospitals for general safety violations when patient handling leads to a worker’s back or shoulder injury, but most of these are technically ergonomic hazards. Hospitals that implement safe patient handling programs, lift equipment, and training reduce injury rates and OSHA exposure.
Countermeasures: Install lift-assist devices (i.e., sliding boards, sheets, overhead/lifts, slings) and institute realistic team-lifting policies.
*Learn more about how ergonomic risks in healthcare can lead to OSHA citations and fines and musculoskeletal injuries in our upcoming dedicated article on this topic.
Food processing and manufacturing jobs are among the most physically demanding. Workers are required to perform repetitive gripping and pinching motions and wear gloves (cut-resistant gloves make gripping and pinching even more difficult). They carry and lift heavy trays and other material objects. These tasks are made even more difficult because workers may be working in cold, wet, or slippery environments. Ergonomic risk factors on food production lines increase the likelihood of strains, tendonitis, carpal tunnel, and other MSDs.
Food processing plants and warehouses receive OSHA fines due to poor workstation design, the lack of anti-fatigue mats, or worker reports of overexertion injuries. As with the other examples, the ergonomic hazard is indirectly causing the regulatory exposure.
Countermeasures: Reduce reaching, bending, and twisting at workstations; provide anti-fatigue mats; rotate repetitive tasks.
*Learn more about how ergonomic risks in food processing and manufacturing can lead to OSHA citations and fines and musculoskeletal injuries in our upcoming dedicated article.
Bad industrial housekeeping is more than a mess — it’s also an ergonomic hazard waiting to happen. Cluttered work areas, blocked aisles, frayed anti-fatigue mats, poorly stored materials, and inadequate shelving force employees into awkward postures, overreaching, or unsafe lifting.
This combination of housekeeping and ergonomic failures can result in:
Countermeasures: Routine housekeeping audits, maintaining clear aisles and walkways, and proper storage solutions improve safety compliance and reduce MSD risk.
*Learn more about how poor housekeeping can lead to fines and musculoskeletal injuries in our upcoming dedicated article.
Even if ergonomic hazards are receiving little OSHA enforcement, the true cost of ignoring these risks is high.
Even in the absence of active OSHA ergonomic enforcement, ignoring these hazards comes at a high cost to any business. At ErgoScience, we help employers prevent and manage ergonomic risk factors before they lead to OSHA fines or costly musculoskeletal injuries.
Here are the key steps to reducing ergonomic injuries and OSHA penalties:
Understanding the physical demands of each job is the first step in preventing ergonomic injuries and OSHA violations. ErgoScience’s Job Analysis assesses forces, postures, frequencies, distances, balance and coordination, and environmental factors to define essential job functions accurately. The Job Analysis helps create ADA-compliant job descriptions, defensible return-to-work decisions, and informed pre-hire testing—all critical for reducing ergonomic risk.
Not every candidate is physically capable of performing the essential functions of the most demanding industrial jobs. Our Pre-Hire Physical Abilities Testing identifies only those who meet our validated physical standards to be hired. Our validated pre-hire testing procedures, developed by university-based research, are compliant with all ADA and EEOC guidelines. Pre-hire testing is one of the most effective ways to prevent ergonomic-related OSHA fines and lost-time incidents.
Small ergonomic adjustments can have a significant impact on injury prevention. ErgoScience’s Workplace Ergonomic Assessments identify high-risk tasks and recommend specific modifications such as lifting techniques, tool design, or workstation layout to reduce strain. We also offer employee and supervisor ergonomic training to help your workforce identify and mitigate risk factors before they become OSHA-recordable injuries.
Despite the best ergonomic programs, early warning signs of overexertion and repetitive strain sometimes appear. ErgoScience’s Early Intervention Programs are designed to identify and address these symptoms before they become more serious and costly injuries. Our on-site and virtual clinicians provide prompt intervention to help employees work safely, often preventing OSHA-recordable MSDs.
As OSHA ergonomic enforcement ramps up, the price of non-compliance continues to rise. Investing in proactive ergonomic risk management helps companies do more than just avoid fines. It also reduces turnover, increases productivity, and builds a safer, more resilient workplace.
ErgoScience has partnered with hundreds of manufacturers, logistics companies, and industrial employers to design customized, compliant, and effective injury prevention programs.
We offer a comprehensive range of pre-hire, ergonomic, and early intervention services that industrial employers need to maintain OSHA compliance and prevent injuries.
Schedule your free consultation to learn how ErgoScience can help you lower injury rates, reduce costs, and keep your workers safe.
ErgoScience makes the workplace better by applying evidence-based injury prevention through proven, defensible methodologies.
Proudly built by Adam Black Media Copyright © All rights reserved.
Our goal is to help people in the best way possible. this is a basic principle in every case and cause for success. contact us today for a free consultation.
