OSHA extends comment period on proposal to amend recordkeeping rules

Washington — OSHA has extended until June 30 the deadline to comment on a proposed rule that would revise injury and illness recordkeeping rules.

According to a notice published in the May 25 Federal Register, OSHA granted a request for a 30-day extension to give stakeholders additional time to prepare and submit responses to the proposal.

The agency requires electronic submissions of Form 300A – a yearly summary of injury and illnesses data – for establishments with 250 or more employees and those with 20-249 employees in certain high-hazard industries. A list of those industries is available in Appendix A of 1904.41.

The proposal would change the regulation to require establishments with 100-plus employees in those high-hazard industries to submit injury and illness data from the more detailed Forms 300 and 301, in addition to Form 300A, each year. Establishments with 20 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries would have to submit data only from Form 300A.

OSHA is proposing to end the electronic reporting requirement for establishments with 250-plus employees that aren’t on the list of high-hazard industries. Additionally, the agency is seeking to update its classification system that determines which industries are covered under its electronic reporting requirements and to require establishments to include a company name when submitting data to the agency.

“As part of OSHA’s mission to protect workers and mitigate workplace hazards, this rule would improve OSHA’s ability to use its enforcement and compliance assistance resources to identify workplaces where workers are at high risk,” an OSHA press release states. “The proposed rule would also advance the Department of Labor’s mission to empower workers by increasing transparency in the workforce.”