As Expected, OSHA Is Proposing To Withdraw Obama-Era Electronic Injury and Illness Reporting Requirements, But Will Maintain Annual Requirement To Submit Summary Data

As expected, the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to rescind controversial electronic reporting requirements that were promulgated in 2016 in the last year of the Obama Administration, but were never fully implemented. DOL had most recently telegraphed its intent to take this action in the Trump Administration’s latest semi-annual regulatory agenda, which was published in May of this year.

More specifically, OSHA is proposing to roll back the new annual requirement to electronically submit two reports – the OSHA “Form 300,” the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and “Form 301,” the Injury and Illness Incident Report. At the same time, OSHA is not proposing to change the annual requirement to electronically submit the “Form 300A,” the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.

According to OSHA’s July 30 Federal Register notice, the agency is concerned that submission of the more detailed Forms 300 and 301 will pose an unacceptable risk that personally-sensitive information regarding worker injuries and illnesses may be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). At the same time, OSHA continues to believe that the summary data submitted on Form 300A is useful for enforcement purposes.

Public comments on OSHA’s proposed rescission are due by September 28, 2018. A copy of the proposed rule is available here.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.