A new compliance provision by OSHA requires employers to submit all workplace injury and illness data online, with hopes to improve workplace safety and provide valuable information to the public about an employer’s safety practices. The required information will be the same data recorded in the previous year’s OSHA Form 300A Summary.
Employers already have to record the previous year’s injuries on OSHA 300 logs and post summaries of those logs in a highly visible place at work for employees to see. So why has OSHA added the additional electronic requirement?
“Behavioral economics tells us that making injury information publicly available will ‘nudge’ employers to focus on safety. And, as we have seen in many examples, more attention to safety will save the lives and limbs of many workers, and will ultimately help the employer’s bottom line… Finally, this regulation will improve the accuracy of this data by ensuring that workers will not fear retaliation for reporting injuries or illnesses.”
Companies that must comply with the online record keeping rule include:
Employee count is based on an establishment, not a firm (a firm could be made up of one or more establishments). Employers with fewer than 20 employees at the peak of employment during the last calendar year (including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers) are excluded from the OSHA Electronic Record Keeping requirement.
OSHA has created an online, secure Injury Tracking Application system for employers to submit the previous year’s OSHA 300A summary data. While employers must electronically submit this data by March 2, OSHA will accept form 300A through the end of the calendar year.
Clients obligated to comply through industry and size requirements for whom Stratus.hr administers their workers’ comp policy have already had their required data submitted and should receive notification of this being handled. Clients that administer their own workers’ comp policy will need to submit their information via the OSHA Injury Tracking Application. Should you need assistance, please contact your Stratus.hr Representative.
Please contact us at HR@stratus.hr for more information on this or other OSHA-mandated regulations.
Click here to read FAQs regarding this new OSHA electronic record keeping rule.
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