On November 7, 2013, the United States Department of Labor -- OSHA announced several proposed changes in rules regarding recordkeeping related to workplace injuries and illnesses under Part 1904 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
These rules are significant in that it will make public many employers’ Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses form. The proposed changes, if adopted, will impact employers with 20 or more employees which are in industries with a 2009 DART (Days Away From Work, Job Restriction, or Job Transfer) of 2.0 or greate(excluding four transport industries that are largely operated by local government).1
Employers with 20 or more employees in those industries will have to submit the OSHA Annual Summary (form 300A) electronically. Employers with 250 or more employees (other than those partially exempted from keeping injury and illness records) will be required to submit injury and illness information electronically on a quarterly basis. In specific cases, OSHA may require, with written notice to an employer that this information be provided on a monthly basis.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking indicates that OSHA will make the information submitted electronically available on its website (OSHA.gov), unless prohibited by the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, or specific Part 1904 prohibitions on release.
1 A complete list of those industries can be found at http://arwebserver.arlaw.com/docs/OSHAList.doc.