National Safety Council Ranks Workplace Safety By State

A new report from the National Safety Council reveals which state has the safest and most hazardous working conditions.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), nearly 5,000 workers died on the job in 2015, with an additional 12,000 sustaining injury every day. The most common causes of worker injury include slip and falls (either from sale level or elevated), overexertion, and struck by/between. Of course, different occupations have their own risk of injury, with commercial fishing and construction often topping the list as being the most dangerous jobs in the United States.

However, worker safety also varies from state to state, as revealed in the new report published by the National Safety Council. After a thorough analysis of each state's working conditions, researchers concluded that the Illinois and Washington were the safest, for which they received an "A" grade. Illinois scored 73%, while Washington scored just a single point lower at 72%. These were the only two states that received an "A" grade for workplace safety in the National Safety Council's report.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, scored an "F" for workplace safety. According to the report, Oklahoma lacked drug-free workplace laws, workplace smoking bans, workplace violence laws, and it did not have sufficient laws to protect workers who were injured on the job. For these reasons, the council gave Oklahoma an "F" rating for workplace safety.

So, how did the National Safety Council come to this conclusion? The council rated states based on a variety of indicators, including injury prevention, preparedness, enforcement, workers' health and workers' compensation.

When discussing this report, Deborah Hersman of the National Safety Council explained that nearly 5,000 workers were killed in 2015. And regardless of the specific job, everyone has the right to work in a safe environment.

“We are nine times safer on the job than off the job, but in 2015 almost 5,000 workers were killed on the job,” said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the council. “That is far too many. Regardless of how we earn our paycheck, the right to a safe workplace is something everyone deserves."

Want to see how your state ranked for workplace safety? You can check out the National Safety Council's The State of Safety report by clicking here. The 25-page report provides detailed insight into workplace safety for all 50 states, revealing which ones have the safest working environments and which ones have the riskiest.