The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that on January 1, 2024, the Biden Administration will reinstate a 2016 Obama-era rule for reporting requirements on worker injuries and illnesses. Under the rule, which can be found here, employers with 100 or more employees working in industries with the “highest injury rates,” as defined by OSHA, will be required to electronically file additional documentation on worker injuries and illnesses.
The industries include farming, food production and manufacturing, health care, and transportation. The full list of industries can be found here. These employers will be required to provide Forms 300 and 301 to OSHA on an annual basis. In response to employer concerns about providing information that could identify workers and concerns about violating medical privacy laws, OHSA has specified in the rule that employees’ names, addresses, and medical provider information are not required to be provided.
The new rule will also have other recordkeeping implications. Starting in 2024, employers with more than 250 employees in non-hazardous industries will no longer be required to submit an annual summary of worker injuries and illnesses. However, all employers with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep records under OSHA’s injury and illness regulations will still be required to file the OSHA Form 300A annually. Additionally, employers with 20-249 employees in certain industries will still be required to file the OSHA Form 300A annually.
Employers subject to this new rule need to be vigilant about the reporting deadlines that OSHA is implementing. Employers will need to have their reports and data for 2023 worker injury or illness filed by March 2, 2024. Employers should start ensuring that their records are current now to avoid missing the deadlines in the new year.
When the rule was initially issued in 2016, industry groups, like the National Association of Manufacturers, filed a lawsuit in federal court in TEXO ABC/AGC, et al. v. Thomas, arguing that OSHA did not have the authority to enforce the rule and that complying with it was not feasible. The case was closed without a decision after the Trump Administration announced that the rule was under review in 2017. However, given employer concerns about the public release of data that OSHA will be gathering from the reporting required by the rule, it would not be surprising if new challenges were brought against the rule.
If you have questions about OSHA rules and regulations or any safety issues, please contact Employers Council at safety@employerscouncil.org.
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