OSHA Revised National Emphasis Program on Heat-Related Hazards and 2024 Annual Report of Severe Injuries and Illness
April 13, 2026
We want to make you aware that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the following directive and report today, which may be of interest:
- Updated National Emphasis Program – Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards
- 2024 Annual Report of Severe Injuries and Illness Reported (SIR) from Employers Covered by Federal OSHA
Updated National Emphasis Program – Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards:
The revised National Emphasis Program protects workers from outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards and directs agency resources where they can make the biggest impact – focusing inspections and outreach in industries and workplaces where heat stress risks are most likely to occur. The revised emphasis program removes outdated background information, updates links, eliminates the former numerical inspection goal and introduces two reorganized appendices, one for evaluating heat programs and another for citation guidance. The update also includes clearer guidance that will improve tracking and more effectively implement the program’s enforcement and outreach efforts.
Compliance officers will continue to conduct outreach and compliance assistance, as well as expand any inspection where there is evidence of heat-related hazards on heat priority days and conduct random inspections focused on heat hazards in high-risk industries on days when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory or warning. This revised NEP is effective immediately and will be in place for five years after the effective date.
OSHA will continue its compliance assistance and outreach efforts to industry and labor stakeholders, alliance partners and media to broaden the reach of heat safety information and resources. The agency’s On-Site Consultation Program, a free and confidential health and safety consulting program for small-and medium-sized businesses, can assist employers with developing strategic approaches for addressing heat-related illnesses and injuries in workplaces.
For more information, please see the News Release, revised National Emphasis Program, and OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention webpage.
2024 Annual Report of Severe Injuries and Illness Reported from Employers Covered by Federal OSHA:
The newly published 2024 Annual Report of Severe Injuries and Illnesses Reported from Employers Covered by Federal OSHA summarizes the most common severe injuries and illnesses reported to OSHA in 2024, with spotlight pages summarizing reported eye losses, a 10-year analysis of falls and forklift-related injuries, and the SIR Dashboard. The SIR annual reports, dataset and dashboard include all severe injury and illness reports made by establishments subject to federal enforcement authority. We estimate this covers approximately half of U.S. workers.
This publication marks the fourth SIR summary report published. Previous reports can be found at www.osha.gov/severeinjury. The data described within the report are already available to view and download on the SIR Dashboard.