In a proposed rule released for public inspection on July 27, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing to make changes to a 2016 final rule that requires the electronic reporting of work-related injury and illness data.
The proposed rule would amend OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation by rescinding the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report). OSHA proposes this amendment to the 2016 rule to protect worker privacy, having re-evaluated the utility of routinely collecting Form 300 and 301 data.
The injury and illness data electronically submitted to OSHA from Form 300A (which submission the 2016 rule requires, and which the proposed rule would not change) gives OSHA a great deal of information to use in identifying high-hazard establishments for enforcement targeting. To that end, OSHA has designed a targeted enforcement mechanism for industries experiencing higher rates of injuries and illnesses based on the summary data. By contrast, OSHA has provisionally determined that electronic submission of Forms 300 and 301 adds uncertain enforcement benefits, while significantly increasing the risk to worker privacy, considering that those forms, if collected by OSHA, could be found disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
OSHA asks for public comment on whether to require covered employers to submit their EIN along with their injury and illness data submission. Comments must be submitted by Sept. 28 and may be done electronically at https://www.regulations.gov/​, which is the federal e-rulemaking portal. Follow the instructions on the website for making electronic submissions
