New provisions issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to improve workplace safety, require employers in certain industries to electronically submit to OSHA injury and illness data that employers are already required to record. OSHA intends to post the data from these submissions on a secure, publicly accessible website. However, no information that could be used to identify individual employees will be available online.
In addition, the final rule:
- Requires employers to inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation (which can be satisfied by posting the OSHA workplace poster, already required).
- Further clarifies the existing implicit requirement that an employer's process for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be reasonable and not deter or discourage employees from reporting.
- Amends OSHA's existing recordkeeping regulation to clarify the rights of employees and their representatives to access the injury and illness records.
The anti-retaliation provisions became effective August 10, 2016, but OSHA has delayed their enforcement until December 1, 2016.
KEY COMPLIANCE DATES:
New reporting requirements will be phased-in over two years:
- Rule takes effect January 1, 2017.
- Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017. These same employers will be required to submit information from all 2017 forms (300A, 300, and 301) by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2.
- Establishments with 20-249 employees in certain high-risk industries must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017, and their 2017 Form 300A by July 1, 2018.
- Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2.