Economics
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Background: Along with its enforcement program, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a voluntary consultation program that responds to requests from firms to identify hazards at their workplaces. We studied the effects of this program on fatal work injuries in the construction industry. Methods: We first examined differences across states in their consultation programs using data from 2016 through 2022, during which time 47,418 consultation visits were conducted in construction. These included differences in frequency of consultation visits at construction firms, the average number of hazards identified per visit, and the scope of those visits. We then used regression analysis to identify the connection between those characteristics and the state's construction fatality rate. We distinguished between the 21 State Plan states which ran their own OSHA enforcement programs and the 29 states where Federal OSHA did the enforcement. Results: State Plan states generally had higher rates of consultation visits that covered more of the worksite and identified higher rates of serious hazards per 1000 workers than Federal states. In regression analyses, State Plan consultation rates were negatively and significantly related to their construction fatality rates. Interactions of consultation rates and average visit hazards or visit scope showed a significant negative relationship with construction fatality rates. The relationship for Federal states was similar though not always significant. Conclusions: More frequent consultation visits to a state's construction firms and more hazards identified or greater visit scope were associated with lower construction fatality rates. © 2026 The Author(s). American Journal of Industrial Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Publication Title
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Publication Date
2026
ISSN
0271-3586
DOI
10.1002/ajim.70050
Keywords
construction, consultations, effectiveness, OSHA, voluntary programs
Repository Citation
Gray, Wayne B., "Do Variations in State Consultation Programs Affect Construction Fatality Rates?" (2026). Economics. 239.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_economics/239
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Conditions
Gray, W. B., & Mendeloff, J. (2026). Do Variations in State Consultation Programs Affect Construction Fatality Rates?. American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
