Effective January 1, 2017 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established new injury reporting requirements that will phase-in over the next 2 years. Specific classes of employers based upon the work they perform will be required to electronically submit injury and illness data they are already recording in paper form .
Please note the final rule doesn’t create any new or additional record keeping requirements; it just requires that the reports that you used prior in paper form now be entered into OSHA’s new secure reporting system. For a complete breakdown of the new law CLICK HERE to download our free Compliance Guide which provides more detail.
New OSHA Employee Injury Reporting Guidelines for 2017
Timeline for the New Reporting Requirements
OSHA will provide a secure website that will offer 3 options for data entry. Some of the data will be posted to the OSHA website. This will take effect January 18th, 2017.
By July 1, 2017 businesses in specific industries with 250 or more employees will be required to electronically submit injury and illness data from their 2016 Form 300A. These same businesses will also be required to submit information from all 2017 forms (300A, 300, and 301) by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2.
Businesses with 20-249 employees in specific high-risk industries will be required to submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017, and must submit data from their 2017 Form 300A by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2.
The final rule containing the new electronic reporting requirements updated certain other related requirements as follows:
- Employees must be informed of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation. This is not new by the way, just a reaffirming.
- The reporting procedures instituted by the employer must be reasonable and cannot deter or discourage employees from reporting work-related injuries and illnesses. Same as above, this is not new as this has always been encapsulated in workers compensation insurance laws and Department of Labor rulings.
- The final rule also amends OSHA’s existing record keeping regulation to clarify the rights of employees and their representatives to access the injury and illness records. This may be new, make sure you get the correct HIPPA sign offs. Be very careful who you release employees medical records to. We suggest a strict HR policy and to update your current employee handbook .
Implications of the New Reporting Requirements
The reason OSHA has implemented these changes is that they feel electronic reporting, public disclosure, and enhanced employee protections will provide more accurate data and improve safety. We agree as paper forms get filed and never make into a larger report where the data actual has meaning. Further the data will have more meaning and impact if it’s shared which this allows for. It will also streamline the collection and the sharing of the information which again adds utility.
If you have further question on the new rulings contact a Risk Advisor for additional information. Metropolitan Risk has over 25 years of experience in guiding companies in how they manage their employee injuries. The cost of not managing employee injuries are considerable and offer forward thinking organizations wishing to get in front of the employee injury challenge turning it into a competitive advantage as their peers continue to fail.
