Legal Updates

OSHA Issues New Rules for Injury Reporting
August 5, 2016

As of August 10, 2016, OSHA officially enacted new workplace injury reporting rules, effective January 1, 2017 (with phased-in data submission thereafter). In a nutshell, employers in affected industries with 250 or more employees will have electronically submit to OSHA the injury and illness information from OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301. Employers in affected industries with 20 – 249 employees must submit only the OSHA Form 300A (as set forth more fully below).

Submission year	Establishments with 250 or more employees	Establishments with 20-249 employees	Submission deadline
2017	Form 300A	Form 300A	July 1, 2017
2018	Forms 300A, 300, 301	Form 300A	July 1, 2018

Beginning in 2019, the submission deadline will be changed from July 1 to March 2.

OSHA will then take the information submitted by employers and electronically post it on the OSHA website for public viewing. Note that these electronic submission requirements do not change an employer’s obligation to complete and retain injury and illness records. According to OSHA, its plan is to, “tak[e] information that employers are already required to collect and [use this] data to help keep workers safer and make employers, the public, and the government better informed about workplace hazards.”

The new rules also contain three provisions designed to promote complete and accurate reporting of work-related injuries and illnesses:

1. Employers must inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses without fear of retaliation. This obligation may be met by posting the “OSHA Job Safety and Health — It’s The Law” worker rights poster from April 2015 or later (http://www.osha.gov/Publications/poster.html).
2. An employer’s procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be reasonable and must not deter or discourage employees from reporting illnesses or injuries.
3. An employer may not retaliate against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses.

The final rule, fact sheets, and FAQs are available on the Federal Register at: https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/finalrule/.

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