OSHA has conducted over 55,035 workplace inspections resulting in 55,380 violations and $857.0M in penalties. Some companies appear in OSHA records again and again. Here are the companies with the worst Safety Scores.
Companies With the Worst Safety Scores
| Rank | Company | Safety Score | Total Penalties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyson Foods, INC. | 31/100 | $3.6M |
| 2 | Patterson-Uti Drilling Company LLC | 32/100 | $1.3M |
| 3 | Dhl Supply Chain | 36/100 | $1.4M |
| 4 | FedEx Ground | 36/100 | $1.4M |
| 5 | Ups | 37/100 | $5.3M |
| 6 | Publix Super Markets, INC. | 38/100 | $3.2M |
| 7 | U.s. Postal Service | 39/100 | $16.0M |
| 8 | Walmart, INC. | 39/100 | $3.4M |
| 9 | Walmart Supercenter | 39/100 | $2.0M |
| 10 | American Airlines | 39/100 | $1.8M |
| 11 | Kroger | 39/100 | $1.3M |
| 12 | Waste Management | 39/100 | $1.1M |
| 13 | United Parcel Service | 40/100 | $3.5M |
| 14 | United Parcel Service, INC. | 40/100 | $3.1M |
| 15 | At & T | 40/100 | $1.9M |
| 16 | Menard, INC. | 40/100 | $1.4M |
| 17 | FedEx Freight | 40/100 | $1.3M |
| 18 | United States Postal Service | 41/100 | $6.1M |
| 19 | Walmart | 41/100 | $3.2M |
| 20 | Usps | 41/100 | $2.4M |
| 21 | Us Postal Service | 41/100 | $2.1M |
| 22 | Capstone Logistics, LLC | 41/100 | $1.4M |
| 23 | Target Corporation | 41/100 | $1.4M |
| 24 | Walmart Stores, INC. | 41/100 | $1.1M |
| 25 | Lowe's Home Centers, LLC. | 42/100 | $1.7M |
What Makes a Company Dangerous
The worst-scoring companies share common patterns: high rates of serious and willful violations (not just minor paperwork issues), repeat violations for the same hazards, and penalties that are large even by industry standards. Repeat violations are particularly concerning because they indicate that a company was cited, had an opportunity to fix the hazard, and did not.
Industry Context
Some industries are inherently more dangerous than others. Construction, manufacturing, and agriculture have higher baseline violation rates. Our Safety Score accounts for this by benchmarking each company against its industry average. A construction company with a low Safety Score is performing worse than its industry peers — not just worse than an office-based company.
For industry-level analysis, see most dangerous industries. For an explanation of violation types, see OSHA violations explained.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies have the most OSHA violations?
Based on OSHA enforcement data covering 14664 companies, large employers in construction, manufacturing, and warehousing tend to have the most total violations. However, violation rate (per inspection) is a better measure of danger than total count.
What is an OSHA Safety Score?
The Safety Score is a 0-100 composite measuring workplace safety. It weights violation rate vs. industry average (40%), serious/willful violation ratio (25%), repeat violation ratio (20%), and penalty per inspection vs. average (15%). Lower scores indicate more dangerous workplaces.
Are OSHA violations public record?
Yes. OSHA enforcement data is public and available through the OSHA Enforcement Data (IMIS) system. Every inspection, violation, and penalty is a matter of public record and can be searched by company name, location, or industry.
About This Data
All data from OSHA Enforcement Data (IMIS) public records. See our methodology.