Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

OSHA proposes to revise Injury and Illness reporting requirements

Posted by Jon Elliott on Mon, Apr 11, 2022

illness-reporting

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires most employers with 10 or more employees at an “establishment” to prepare and maintain records of occupational injuries and illnesses (I&I) as they occur (I&I Logs). OSHA also requires employers to post an annual I&I Summary in each workplace “establishment” by February 1, summarizing that workplace’s I&Is during the previous calendar year. In addition, beginning in 2017 OSHA requires some employers to submit some of this I&I information electronically to the agency. (I wrote about the initial electronic reporting requirements HERE). On March 30 OSHA proposed to update and revise these electronic reporting requirements, which the remainder of this note summarizes.

What are the current requirements for electronic I&I submissions?

OSHA’s I&I rule (29 CFR 1904) requires certain employers to submit required I&I records from the employers’ OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses to OSHA electronically, as follows:

  • All establishments with 250 or more employees at any time during a year

  • All establishments in designated industries with 20 or more employees (but fewer than 250) at any time during a year

  • Any other establishment individually notified by OSHA to report.

Part 1904 defines an establishment as “a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.” To calculate number of employees, the employer must include each individual employed in the establishment at any time during the calendar year, including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers. OSHA lists designated industries in Appendix A to the rules; they reflect North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes (mostly at 4-digit level, e.g., 4841 General Freight Trucking).

These requirements apply nationwide, since OSHA requires delegated states (“state plan states”) to adopt comparable requirements. OSHA provides a secure Injury Tracking Application for submission of this information.

What revisions is OSHA proposing?

OSHA is proposing a number of revisions to these electronic I&I reporting requirements:

  • Updating the list of industries with 20 or more employees that must make electronic reports, to reflect the 2017 edition of the NAICS codes instead of the 2012 edition reflected in the existing regulations (revised Appendix A)

  • replace required reporting of Form 300A information by all employers with 250 or more employees with reporting of selected Form 300, 300A, and 301 data by employers with 100 or more employees in designated NAICS codes (new Appendix B). OSHA is proposing to require reporting by establishments with 100 or more employees in 4-digit NAICS (2017) industries that:

    • had a 3-year-average rate of total recordable cases (using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS’) Total Case Rate) of at least 3.5 cases per 100 full-time-equivalent employees, and

    • are included in proposed appendix A

  • OSHA will post establishment-specific, case-specific I&I information online.

In 2016, OSHA adopted I&I reporting requirements that include information from Form 300 (Log of Work-Related injuries and Illnesses), Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), and Form 301 ((Injury and Illness Incident Report). However, OSHA subsequently delayed and eventually rescinded the requirements to report information from Forms 300 and 301. OSHA now proposes to reinstate that reporting, for selected establishments with 100 or more employees. In doing so, OSHA includes provisions limiting required disclosures and subsequent posting in order to protect employee privacy from potential release of individually identifiable information.

What happens next?

OSHA has asked for comments by May 31, 2022, after which it will likely proceed quickly to finalize the revisions – perhaps in time to be effective when 2022 data are reported early in 2023.

Self-Assessment Checklist

Has the organization defined “establishments” where work is performed?

Does the organization have one or more establishments subject to I&I recording and posting requirements?

Does the organization have one or more establishments required to make electronic reports of I&I data?

Has the organization evaluated whether OSHA’s proposed revisions to electronic date reporting requirements would change its responsibilities at any establishments?

Is the organization preparing comments on OSHA’s proposed revisions?

Where can I go for more information?

 

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About the Author

Jon Elliott is President of Touchstone Environmental and has been a major contributor to STP’s product range for over 30 years. 

Mr. Elliott has a diverse educational background. In addition to his Juris Doctor (University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1981), he holds a Master of Public Policy (Goldman School of Public Policy [GSPP], UC Berkeley, 1980), and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Princeton University, 1977).

Mr. Elliott is active in professional and community organizations. In addition, he is a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the GSPP Alumni Association, and past member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California's Environmental Law Section (including past chair of its Legislative Committee).

You may contact Mr. Elliott directly at: tei@ix.netcom.com

Tags: Health & Safety, OSHA