Missouri is the #9 state with the most COVID-19 worker safety violations

As the coronavirus struck, safety at the workplace urgently became more important than ever. Newspapers and televisions were filled with vivid images and stories of workers crowded into close quarters, lacking personal protective gear. More recently, workplace safety issues have extended to whether employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a requirement of their employment.

The U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, conducted thousands of inspections into possible violations, resulting in fines totaling about $4 million in the first two years of the pandemic.

Uplift Legal Funding has identified the states with the most federal COVID-19-related worker safety violations, using OSHA data from July 2020, when the agency first issued COVID-19-related inspection guidance, through December 2021.

Read on to see how your state's working population has fared during the COVID-19 pandemic or see the national story here.

Missouri by the numbers

- Total number of inspections with COVID-19-related violations: 27 (975 total inspections)
- Average number of standards cited per violation: 2.9
- Total amount of penalties issued: $306,731 ($11,360 average per establishment with violations)

Missouri has taken a lead role in a slew of lawsuits filed to challenge the vaccine mandate issued by OSHA for companies with more than 100 employees. The mandate calls for employees either to be vaccinated or to wear masks and undergo weekly tests. "This mandate is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise," Eric Schmitt, Missouri's attorney general, said in a federal court filing in St. Louis. Slapped with one of the biggest OSHA fines in the state, a nursing home in Monett, Missouri, was written up on issues surrounding the use of face masks, such as their proper use, fit, and cleaning. The facility was ordered to pay a fine of more than $38,000.

Nationwide, 22 states chose to run their own OSHA-approved workplace safety programs. These states set their own COVID-19 safety standards, and OSHA only holds jurisdiction over federal employees in these states. Another six states, including New York and Maine, have worker safety programs for state and local government workers, but rely on OSHA to oversee the private sector.

Due to OSHA's limited capacity to complete inspections and its limited scope across certain states, a state's ranking doesn't necessarily reflect that its establishments were more prone to flouting COVID-19 restrictions—only that enforcement mechanisms caught more of the violations.

Take a look at the top five states with the most COVID-19 worker safety violations, and stay safe.

States with the most federal COVID-19 worker safety violations

#1. New Jersey: 144 inspections with COVID-19-related violations (1,814 total inspections)
- Total amount of penalties issued: $2,333,025 ($16,202 average per establishment with violations)
#2. New York: 97 inspections with COVID-19-related violations (2,177 total inspections)
- Total amount of penalties issued: $1,245,893 ($12,844 average per establishment with violations)
#3. Ohio: 60 inspections with COVID-19-related violations (2,718 total inspections)
- Total amount of penalties issued: $781,540 ($13,026 average per establishment with violations)
#4. Illinois: 49 inspections with COVID-19-related violations (2,578 total inspections)
- Total amount of penalties issued: $776,546 ($15,848 average per establishment with violations)
#5. Pennsylvania: 45 inspections with COVID-19-related violations (2,425 total inspections)
- Total amount of penalties issued: $476,940 ($10,599 average per establishment with violations)