OSHA Finalizes Rule Making Incident Reports Public

The Department of Labor significantly increased its activity last spring, targeting employers on issues ranging from wages to recordkeeping to union organizing. On May 11, 2016, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revealed its long-delayed Electronic Recordkeeping rule, also known as "Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses."

The new rule requires small businesses with 20 to 249 employees to electronically submit their Form 300A, which OSHA then will post on the Internet for public viewing. Larger manufacturing companies with more than 250 employees will submit Forms 300, 300A and 301 quarterly, which OSHA will also post online.

The new rule takes effect January 1, 2017. In addition to publicly posting the information online, in the rule OSHA also reiterated its opposition to employee-safety incentive programs. The Labor Department believes that rewarding employees for days without an incident or maintaining a safe workplace are disincentives for reporting injuries.

Follow this link, www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/finalrule/, for more information, including a copy of the rule, a fact sheet and a frequently-asked questions webpage.

See also: OSHA Publications Office

Technologies: Safety

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