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Pallet C e nt ral • May -Ju ne 2 0 26 4 3 A pril 2026 was designated by OSHA as "Workers Memorial Month," and employers and associations around the United States participated—along with their employees—in various live events and web-based programs, sharing workplace safety and health information and resources. ey also targeted frequent causes of life-altering injuries and illnesses, as well as sharing lessons from fatal accidents. is year, I participated by presenting a webinar on mental health issues and workplace violence prevention. April 23 was set as the official date for the US Department of Labor's official ceremony at the agency's headquarters in Washington, DC. April 28 is the official Workers Memorial Day, where we honor and respect the thousands of lives lost each year due to a workplace incident, illness, and disease. It is also the 55th anniversary of the enactment of the OSH Act, which created the agencies OSHA and NIOSH. Significantly, those who are left behind, dealing with the pain and suffering of the loss of their loved ones, are also recognized at these events. Activities were also slated in many states, listed on w w w.OSHA. gov, and some of the presentations and resources will continue to be available throughout the year. In the United States, over 5,000 workers a year lose their lives on the job, a rate of roughly 3.5 per 100,000 workers. In addition to traumatic injuries, nearly 150,000 more workers die each year from occupational illnesses, and these are not as well-tracked due to the long latency period for some illnesses, and confusion about causation for conditions such as lung cancer. Put another way, a worker dies from a work-related injury or illness once every 104 minutes. OSHA has helped make great strides: in 1970, when the agency was created, 38 workers died on the job each day, compared to 15 per day now. For perspective, in 1914, before modern safety laws, around 35,000 US workers died on the job in a single year—equal to two-thirds of all American combat deaths in W W I. e highest risk industries are, predictably, construction and mining, agriculture, and fishing. But warehousing and transportation are right up at the top of the list! In fact, transportation incidents are the most frequent type of fatal event (over 38% of all on-the-job deaths, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), but OSHA doesn't track those as closely because it lacks jurisdiction to investigate roadway deaths. However, the agency can investigate deaths involving trucks or mobile equipment when it occurs on a worksite such as a loading dock or in a yard. Many worker deaths involve falls, slips, and trips, and over 10% of these involve falls from heights above 30 feet. More than 100 workers died due to falls on stairs and from ladders last year. Other frequent causes of death involve being struck by equipment such as trucks and forklifts, getting caught in equipment such as conveyors or unguarded pinch points, as well as deaths related to confined spaces and electrical hazards. Musculoskeletal disorders from ergonomic injuries continue to be a major problem, accounting for approximately 28% of all serious work-related injuries and illnesses in private industry. Workers of color and Latino workers die on the job at higher rates, and this is sometimes due to language barriers when providing training or worker directions. Significantly, at least 55 workers died from heat-related illness in 2025, a 28% increase in the past three years. Many more workers became ill as a result of heat and dehydration, resulting in medical treatment including hospitalization. Federal OSHA has continued to work on development of its heat illness prevention rule, but hearings are concluded and comments are closed, so its fate is uncertain. Meanwhile, not only have multiple "state plan" OSHA states promulgating their own heat illness rules (CA, OR, WA, MN, MD, NV, and VA) but even federal OSHA states such as Georgia have now adopted enforceable rules.

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