August 7, 2015—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued on July 28 a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that clarifies an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness throughout the five-year period during which the employer is required to keep the records.
“Accurate records are not simply paperwork, but have an important, in fact life-saving purpose,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “They will enable employers, employees, researchers and the government to identify and eliminate the most serious workplace hazards—ones that have already caused injuries and illnesses to occur.”
OSHA is issuing this proposed rule in light of the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in AKM LLC v. Secretary of Labor (Volks) to clarify its long-standing position that the duty to record an injury or illness continues for as long as the employer must keep records of the recordable injury or illness. The proposed amendments add no new compliance obligations; the proposal would not require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for which records are not already required.
The proposed rule was published in the July 29, 2015, issue of the Federal Register. Members of the public can submit written comments on the proposed rule at regulations.gov, the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. See the Federal Register notice for submission details. Comments must be submitted by September 28, 2015.
According to a related press release from safety and visual communication solutions provider Graphic Products, OSHA overhauled record-keeping updates at the start of 2015, mandating that more businesses not only keep records, but document additional classifications of injury.
According to the release, as of January 1, 2015, for any fatality that occurs within 30 days of a work-related incident, employers must report the event within 8 hours of finding out about it. For any in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss that occurs within 24 hours of a work-related incident, employers must report the event within 24 hours of learning about it.
