The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a proposed improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. The announcement follows the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of its annual Occupational Injuries and Illnesses report, which estimates that three million workers were injured on the job in 2012.
Like virtually all government entities, OSHA is struggling to update its procedures and IT systems. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.
“Three million injuries are three million too many,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “With the changes being proposed in this rule, employers, employees, the government and researchers will have better access to data that will encourage earlier abatement of hazards and result in improved programs to reduce workplace hazards and prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The proposal does not add any new requirement to keep records; it only modifies an employer’s obligation to transmit these records to OSHA.”
The public will have 90 days to submit written comments on the proposed rule. On Jan. 9, 2014, OSHA will hold a public meeting on the proposed rule in Washington, D.C. A Federal Register notice announcing the public meeting will be published shortly.
The proposed rule was developed following a series of meetings in 2010 – how’s that for fast action – to help OSHA gather information about electronic submission of establishment-specific injury and illness data. OSHA is proposing to amend its current record keeping regulations to add for the electronic submission of injury and illness information employers are already required to keep under existing standards, Part 1904. The first proposed new requirement is for establishments with more than 250 employees (and who are already required to keep records) to electronically submit the records on a quarterly basis to OSHA.
OSHA is also proposing that establishments with 20 or more employees, in certain industries with high injury and illness rates, be required to submit electronically only their summary of work-related injuries and illnesses to OSHA once a year. Currently, many such firms report this information to OSHA under OSHA’s Data Initiative.
OSHA plans to post the data online, at some point, as encouraged by President Obama’s Open Government Initiative. Timely, establishment-specific injury and illness data – OSHA claims – will allow it to target its compliance assistance and enforcement resources more effectively by identifying workplaces where workers are at greater risk, and enable employers to compare their injury rates with others in the same industry.
