States resolve lawsuit against OSHA after revision to recordkeeping rule

Washington — Six states are dropping their lawsuit against OSHA after the agency finalized changes to its revised rule on submitting annual injury and illness data.

The attorneys general of Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York filed suit against the federal government in March 2019 after OSHA changed its recordkeeping regulation to require only submissions of data from Form 300A, which is a summary of work-related injuries and illnesses.

The revised rule, published July 21 and set to go into effect Jan. 1, requires establishments with 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries to submit data from the more detailed Forms 300 and 301 – in addition to Form 300A – by March 2 each year.

Form 300 is a log of work-related injuries and illnesses, while Form 301 features incident reports that correspond to each entry on Form 300.

Establishments in high-hazard industries with 20 to 249 employees in a calendar year are still required to submit Form 300A. Also required to submit annual data are establishments with 250-plus employees “in industries that must routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records.”

Establishments must also include their legal company name when submitting data each year.

The motion for voluntary dismissal and vacatur was filed on Aug. 25 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

“Our journey to defend the necessity of reporting workplace injuries and illnesses has been a long one, and we are grateful that the Biden administration agrees that it is vital to have public transparency around worker safety,” New Jersey’s First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsay V. Ruotolo said in a press release. “The new rule benefits everyone – employers, employees and the public – by promoting safer conditions on the job and demanding increased accountability. This is a tremendous win, not only for New Jersey, but for all workers nationwide, and will result in significant benefits to occupational safety and health.”