Deadline for electronic injury, illness reports was Dec. 15 now Dec. 31.
OSHA delayed reporting requirement until Dec. 31 for employers to electronically submit injury and illness data. The agency’s final rule was published in the Nov. 24 Federal Register. According to OSHA, the delay allows “affected employers additional time to become familiar with a new electronic reporting system.”
The Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses final rule, as it is formally known, mandates that employers with 250 or more workers, as well as those with 20 to 249 employees in high-risk industries such as agriculture, forestry, construction and manufacturing, electronically submit OSHA’s Form 300A. OSHA then would make the information public on its website.
OSHA is currently reviewing the other provisions of its final rule and intends to publish a notice of proposed rule-making to reconsider, revise or remove portions of that rule in 2018.
For the next reporting deadline of July 1, 2018, if you want to be able to more easily and efficiently manage reporting work related injuries and OSHA recordables, please feel free to look at our Free OSHA Software at http://www.stopbeingfrustrated.com/osha-logs.html
Few citations given under the anti-retaliation provisions of the electronic record-keeping rule
The electronic record-keeping rule’s anti-retaliation provisions went into effect Dec. 1, 2016 and required employers to inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation, specifically barred employers from retaliating against employees, and mandated that employer procedures to report work-related injuries and illnesses must be reasonable and not discourage reporting. Employers were encouraged to evaluate employee incentive programs related to injuries to be sure they did not violate the rule.
In addition, OSHA’s interpretations of the anti-retaliatory provisions warned that post-incident drug and alcohol testing could deter employees from reporting injuries and illnesses. Therefore, post-injury drug and alcohol testing policies should be limited to situations in which there is a reasonable possibility that an employee’s drug or alcohol use was a contributing factor to a reported incident.
These provisions were controversial and the basis of some litigation against the rule. However, according to a recent article in Business Insurance, OSHA has issued only a handful of citations under anti-retaliation provisions since they went into effect last year, with several open investigations.
The article noted that Ann Rosenthal, associate solicitor for the division of occupational safety and health with the Labor Department’s Office of the Solicitor in Washington, told attendees of the American Bar Association’s annual Labor and Employment Law Conference some citations were issued against unnamed employers related to incentive programs in which employees were penalized for injury and illness reporting. This included one employer whose program gave bonuses to employees who did not report lost-time days while those who reported them did not get bonuses. But several employers quickly settled these complaints by agreeing to change their policies and giving employees the incentives. “The rule can’t really outlaw the incentive programs,” Ms. Rosenthal said. “You can have the policy – you just can’t apply it to penalize the workers who report the injuries.”
She also noted she was not aware of a single drug testing case under the federal OSHA plan since the anti-retaliation provisions went into effect. Even though this information is encouraging for employers, it does not mean the rule can be ignored. Implemented properly and in compliance with the rule, incentive programs and post-accident drug testing are possible.
Fatality and serious injury reporting rule lessons from past three years
OSHA’s Fatality & Significant Injury Reporting Rule, which went into effect January 1, 2015, required employers to report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours and all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye within 24 hours. A recent webinar by Conn Maciel Carey, a boutique law firm focused on Labor & Employment, Workplace Safety, and Litigation, noted that each year the rule has been in effect, the number of reports has increased. This, in spite of the fact that overall workplace injuries have declined.
Through October 2017, there were 7,248 hospitalizations reported and 2,403 amputations reported. On an annualized current year basis, this is projected to be 11,581 total reports, compared to 10,395 in 2015. Once a report is made, one of three things happen: a mandatory inspection occurs, the Area Director has discretion to decide a course of action, or a rapid response investigation letter is sent. In 2017, there is a 47% inspection rate for reported amputations and a 26% inspection rate for fatalities.
In the webinar, Conn Maciel Carey noted that there are several instances where reports are submitted when they are not required under the rule. For example, the rule requires reporting “formal admission to the inpatient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment.” It does not include admission for observation or testing (even after receiving medical treatment in ER), outpatient care or care in a hospital prior to formal admission, and no longer requires overnight stay. An example they obtained from OSHA:
“Employee breaks leg, goes to ER where he begins to bleed out. ER replenishes blood before setting leg, but sends patient from ER to a ward where he is admitted for monitoring because of blood loss – NOT Reportable”
Timing is also a source of non-mandatory reporting. Injuries/fatalities are reportable only if:
- Fatality results within 30 days of the day of the incident
- Hospitalization occurs within 24 hours of the incident
- Amputation / eye loss occurs within 24 hours of incident
Hospitals will often delay admissions because reimbursements for emergency services are higher or they may do major medical treatment in the emergency room followed by in-patient admission for observation only. For this reason, it is important to determine if the incident is truly reportable before making the report.
In addition to the over reporting of hospitalizations, other common mistakes include failing to report minor fingertip amputations, reporting non-employee injuries, making verbal or written admissions in the report, and only identifying “employee misconduct” as the reason. It’s important to note, that California has stricter rules and the federal rules should not be followed there.
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