Workplace Safety and Health News Alert

OSHA PROPOSES TO REVISE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS TO REQUIRE ONLY 300A FORMS FROM ALL EMPLOYERS

July 30, 2018

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC
Volume 14, Number 13
©2018 Jackson Kelly PLLC

On Monday, July 30, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to revise the Tracking of Workplace Injury and Illness rule.  The proposed rule rescinds the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301.  Large employers will still be required to submit information from their form 300A summaries similar to smaller employers. 

OSHA is proposing to amend the recordkeeping regulation to protect sensitive worker information from potential disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).  OSHA believes that this proposal maintains safety and health protections for workers while also reducing the burden for employers of complying with the current rule.  As part of the proposal, OSHA is proposing to require covered employers to submit their Employer Identification Number electronically along with their injury and illness data submission.  OSHA seeks comment on this proposal, particularly on its impact on worker privacy, including the risk posed by exposing workers sensitive information to possible FOIA disclosure. 

This proposal is no surprise as OSHA has hinted for months that it would likely propose a rule withdrawing the requirement for large employers to submit their OSHA forms 300 and 301.  Along these same lines, OSHA did not require establishments with 250 or more employees to submit those forms by the reporting period that ran July 1, 2018. 

Public comments are due 60 days from Monday’s publication, September 28, 2018. 

For questions regarding this proposal or submitting comments, please contact Jackson Kelly PLLC.

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH PRACTICE GROUP
Denver, Colorado

Responsible Attorney
Karen L. Johnston
303.390.0008
kjohnston@jacksonkelly.com

The Jackson Kelly PLLC Workplace Safety & Health News-Alert is for informational purposes only and not for the purposes of offering legal advice or a legal opinion on any matter. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any statement in the Jackson Kelly PLLC Workplace Safety & Health News-Alert without seeking advice from qualified legal counsel on the particular facts and circumstances involved.

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