OSHA Proposes a New Scheme for Injury and Illness Reporting
On March 28, 2022, OSHA announced a proposed rule to amend the federal occupational injury, illness recordkeeping regulation. If approved, the proposed rule will change the requirement to submit illness and injury summaries (OSHA 300-A) for many companies with 20-249 employees and almost all employers with 250 employees, and would potentially require fewer establishments to report more detailed information.
The proposed change will require establishments with 100 or more employees, in certain high-hazard industries, to electronically submit not only the 300-A summary but more detailed information from their log of injuries/illnesses (OSHA 300) and the Injury and Illness Incident Reports (OSHA 301).
The “high-hazard industries” (found in Appendix B to the proposed rule) includes a wide swath of the economy including agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, transportation, warehousing, real estate, healthcare, art, entertainment as well as hotels and food service.
Another critical change will require establishments to include their company name when making electronic submissions to OSHA. This is very important when you consider that the submissions are posted online. That has been the case for years and the data is very revealing, but only in a limited way. The additional reporting requirements would make details about your worker injuries and illnesses a matter of public record. In addition, accurately recording and reporting the information will become even more critical. (The data reported currently is available at https://www.osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data)
At a time when your company’s data is more accessible than ever by a global audience, it is crucial to understand how and when it is shared. Cornerstone will monitor this proposed rule and keep you informed. In the meantime, we recommend that all impacted employers read and understand the proposed rule and comment as needed. Comments must be submitted by May 31, 2022.
Read the full release and get more information here: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/03282022-0
John Scifres is Cornerstone’s Director of Health and Safety Services. He is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and is a Provisional Lead Auditor for ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. He oversees Cornerstone’s team of EHS Project Managers. In addition, he consults with clients nation-wide to ensure compliance with EHS regulations and evaluate opportunities to go above and beyond compliance.
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