New OSHA rule effective 8/10/16 regarding electronic record keeping and reporting rule has been finalized
OSHA has issued a new rule to update injury data collection to better inform them—and the general public—about workplace hazards. With this new OSHA rule (which goes into effect as of August 10, 2016), a majority of U.S. employers will be required to send injury and illness data directly to OSHA, which will then be posted on OSHA’s public website (www.osha.gov). OSHA intends to use the submitted data to target compliance efforts and enforcement practices at establishments where workers may be at the greatest risk.
The new OSHA rule requires certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness data that they are already required to record on their OSHA Injury and Illness forms (e.g. OSHA 300, 300 A & 301). Here’s the breakdown:
- Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the record keeping regulation must submit information on their 2016 injuries and illnesses by July 1, 2017, and their 2017 information by July 1, 2018.
- Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in high-risk industries such as agriculture, forestry, construction and manufacturing (see the complete list of covered industries here) must submit information on their 2016 injuries and illnesses by July 1, 2017, and their 2017 information by July 1, 2018
- .Beginning in 2019, the information must be submitted by March 2.
These requirements do not change an employer’s obligation to complete, post and retain
injury and illness records beginning in February of each year.
Access to this data will enable employers to benchmark their safety and health performance against industry leaders, to improve their own safety programs It will also allow prospective employees to identify their risk of injury at prospective workplaces. Consequently, the logic is that employers competing to hire the best workers will make injury prevention a higher priority.
Using data collected under the new rule, OSHA will create the largest publicly available data set on work injuries and illnesses, enabling researchers to better study injury causes, identify new workplace safety hazards before they become widespread and evaluate the effectiveness of injury and illness prevention activities. OSHA will remove all personally identifiable information associated with the data before it is publicly accessible.
The final rule is available in the Federal Register at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-10443.pdf
For questions and guidance regarding this significant new piece of legislation, contact Tiffany Passmore at [email protected] or at 1-800-462-6435 x234.