On May 12, 2016 OSHA published a final rule for employee information reporting, reasonable reporting procedures and prohibition of retaliation. The new reporting requirements will take effect January 1, 2017, and the reasonable reporting and retaliation rules are scheduled to take effect on August 10, 2016.
The Requirements Include the Following:
Requires employers in certain industries to electronically submit to OSHA injury and illness data that employers are already required to keep under existing OSHA regulations.
Requires employers to inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation.
Clarifies the existing implied requirement that an employer’s procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be reasonable and not deter or discourage employees from reporting work-related injuries or illnesses.
Deadlines:
Establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records must electronically submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017. These same employers will be required to submit information from all 2017 forms (300A, 300, and 301) by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2nd.
Establishments with 20-249 employees in certain high-risk industries 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 every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2nd.
The OSHA state plan requires employers in specific states to adopt requirements that are substantially identical to the requirements in this final rule within six (6) months after publication of this final rule. For a comprehensive list of those states refer to the following: https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html
To read more about the updated requirements http://bit.ly/2agD2U8.