OSHA Issues Final Rule Regarding Tracking of Injuries, Illnesses

By NRCA.

On Jan. 24, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule that eliminates the requirement for all establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA. These establishments and those in high-hazard industries—such as construction (including roofing)—with 20-249 employees now are required to annually submit only Form 300A.

Public comments to the original proposed rule generally questioned the usefulness of the information collection considering the burden it would place on employers. In January 2014, NRCA commented it was troubled by the lack of detail in the rule regarding protection of private information involving injured workers and proprietary company information. OSHA initially discounted the significance of those concerns. Litigation was initiated by employer groups to void the rule, and legal action still is pending.

In July 2018, OSHA proposed a rule to revise the electronic reporting requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to eliminate the submission of forms 300 and 301 but to include the employer's Employer Identification Number. Requirements for construction industry employers with 20-249 employees remained the same. This action makes final the requirement for employers with 250 or more employees and construction industry employers with 20 or more workers to annually submit OSHA Form 300A with their EIN.

OSHA said it issued the EIN requirement because it would make the data more useful for OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics and could reduce duplicative reporting burdens on employers in the future. OSHA stated this final rule will allow it to improve enforcement targeting and compliance assistance, protect worker privacy and safety, and decrease the burden on employers.

Many of the original ideas OSHA stated as reasons for the new rule included:

• Researchers, employers, employees and government agencies "will be better able to identify and remove workplace hazards."
• OSHA will be able to use the data from the larger database to identify workplaces where workers are at the greatest risk.
• Prospective employees and customers could review company data and make better informed decisions about their future with a company.
• OSHA could use submitted data to create and send hazard-specific informational packages to companies addressing their issues as reported.

NRCA is concerned about the portion of the ruling that states proprietary establishment information contained on OSHA Form 300A will continue to require electronic submittal, as OSHA shows no interest in protecting the information from public access. OSHA Form 300A requires employers to submit information regarding the annual average number of employees and total hours worked by all employees last year. This information has no relevance to any duties of the agency established by Congress under the OSH Act for the protection of worker health and safety. However, competitors and others may use that information to gain insight into an establishment's financial workings to the detriment of the submitting establishment. In 2018, NRCA recommended OSHA eliminate the requirement to submit that information or take necessary steps to ensure the information is not accessible to the public on any website or through any other means established by OSHA under this rule. Unfortunately, this is something OSHA failed to address in its final ruling.

NRCA will continue to push to eliminate the requirement to submit the 300A; however, the final rule takes effect immediately. Collection of 2018 information from OSHA Form 300A began Jan. 2. The deadline for electronic submissions is March 2. For roofing contractors with 20 or more employees, electronic submittal of Form 300A must be done annually starting immediately.

More information can be found in the Federal Register notice for the final rule

Source: NRCA.