OSHA Requires Electronic Submission and Public Posting of Injury Data
June 03, 2016
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has published a Final Rule, requiring certain employers to annually submit injury and illness data electronically. The Final Rule also requires these employers to (a) inform employees of their right to report injuries and illnesses without retaliation, and (b) establish "reasonable procedures" for internal reporting of injuries and illnesses.
Covered Employers
• Employers with 250 or more employees at any one "establishment" will be required to submit annually the injury data for such an establishment online. These employers are required to report this data by submitting OSHA Form 300 (running injury log), Form 300A (annual summary of injuries) and Form 301 (detailed incident and injury reports) through an OSHA-provided website.
• Employers from previously exempt, low-hazard industries (finance, insurance, etc.) remain exempt from this electronic-submission requirement, even if they employ more than 250 employees at one establishment.
• Employers in industries with historically-high injury rates (utilities, construction, manufacturing, etc.) must comply, even if they do not employ 250 employees at any one establishment (unless each establishment employs less than 20 employees).
• Finally, employers with fewer than 20 employees at each of their establishments need to submit their injury data electronically only if specifically requested to do so by OSHA.
Public Posting
OSHA plans to post online the new electronic injury data it receives from employers. For this reason, employers are expected to remove personally identifiable information from their forms before submitting them electronically.
Compliance Schedule
Employers with 250 or more employees at an establishment must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017 (one form only), and information from their 2017 Forms 300, 300A and 301 (three forms) by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and each subsequent year, information for all three forms will be due by March 2. Employers in industries with historically-high injury rates and 20-249 employees in at least one establishment must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017, and their 2017 Form 300A by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and each subsequent year, the Form 300A information will be due by March 2.
Non-Retaliation and Internal Reporting
Covered employers must proactively alert employees about their right to report injuries and illnesses without fear of adverse action (posting of OSHA’s "Job Safety and Health – It’s the Law" poster satisfies this requirement). Covered employers must also establish "reasonable procedures" that do not discourage such reporting.
 has published a Final Rule, requiring certain employers to annually submit injury and illness data electronically.&redirect_uri=http://sescomgt.com/news/detail/osha-requires-electronic-submission-and-public-posting-of-injury-data/201608090935049165)
