The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a proposed rule that would require electronic submission of injury and illness information that employers are already required to keep under OSHA’s regulations for recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses. (29 CFR 1904). The purpose of this rulemaking is to improve tracking of workplace safety and health by giving OSHA direct, timely, and systematic access to useful, accessible, establishment-specific injury and illness data.
As proposed, the rule adds three new electronic reporting requirements:
- Establishments with 250 or more employees at any time during the previous calendar year will be required to electronically submit to OSHA or OSHA’s designee, on a quarterly basis, information from records they keep under Part 1904, including Form 300 and Form 301;
- Establishments with 20 or more employees during the previous calendar year that are in certain designated industries, will be required to electronically submit to OSHA or OSHA’s designee, information from the OSHA summary form (Form 300A), on an annual basis; and
- All employers who receive specific notification from OSHA will be required to submit electronically information from their Part 1904 injury and illness records to OSHA or OSHA’s designee for the time period and at the intervals specified by the notification.
Comments on this proposal are due by February 6, 2014. Comments may be submitted electronically at regulations.gov. Search for docket number OSHA-2013-0023 or the regulatory information number (RIN) 1218-AC49.