OSHA Updates Injury and Illness Reporting Rules

Plastics Business

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has revised its Injury and Illness Reporting Requirements for employers. According to OSHA, establishments located in states under federal OSHA jurisdiction were required to begin complying with the revised requirements as of Jan. 1.

In accordance with the new reporting rules, employers must report the following events:

1. Each fatality resulting from a work-related incident, within 8 hours of the death.
2. Each in-patient hospitalization resulting from a work-related incident, within 24 hours of the hospitalization.
3. Each amputation resulting from a work-related incident, within 24 hours of the amputation.
4. Each loss of an eye resulting from a work-related incident, within 24 hours of the loss of an eye.

The revised reporting regulations are now in compliance with the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), updating the list of industries exempt from keeping routine OSHA injury and illness records. The previous list relied upon the outdated Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), as well as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The new rules likewise expand the list of severe work-related injuries that employers are required to report to OSHA. However, the updated regulations still allow exemption for those employers with ten or fewer employees from being required to keep routine OSHA records.

According to Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, "OSHA will now receive crucial reports of fatalities and severe work-related injuries and illnesses that will significantly enhance the agency's ability to target our resources to save lives and prevent further injury and illness. This new data will enable the agency to identify the workplaces where workers are at the greatest risk and target our compliance assistance and enforcement resources accordingly."

OSHA has issued a new wallet card to help employers/supervisors understand the new reporting requirements. For more information or to download the wallet card, visit www.osha.gov.