April 28, 2026

The AFL-CIO has released the latest edition of “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect,” its long-running, comprehensive report on safety and health protections for working families across the country.

KThe report, now in its 35th year, was issued to coincide with Workers Memorial Day, celebrated April 28. Established by the AFL-CIO in 1989, Workers Memorial Day is an international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, injured, or disabled on the job.

The study offers national and state safety data on workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses along with workplace safety inspections, funding, staffing and public employee coverage under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act.

In the report, the AFL-CIO bases its findings on the most recent data available from several sources: data on government job fatality, injury and illness data from 2024, government enforcement data from 2025 and peer-reviewed research, reports, union experience and other evidence.

According to the report, in 2024:
• More than 380 workers died each day from hazardous working conditions.
• 5,070 workers were killed on the job in the United States.
• An estimated 135,000 workers died from occupational diseases.
• The overall job fatality rate decreased to 3.3 per 100,000 workers.
• Workers of color die on the job at a higher rate: Black and Latino worker job fatality rates are disproportionate compared with all other workers.
• An estimated 530 workers died from heat on the job, but both fatal and nonfatal data are an undercount of the real problem.

States with the highest fatality rates in 2024 were:
• Wyoming (13.9 per 100,000 workers)
• Mississippi (8 per 100,000 workers)
• Alaska (7.1 per 100,000 workers)
• North Dakota (6.8 per 100,000 workers)
• Arkansas (6.2 per 100,000 workers)

Read the report HERE.