Following a review of its 2016 final rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, also known as the electronic recordkeeping rule, OSHA has corrected an implementation error that affects the compliance obligations of employers in state-plan states.
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OSHA determined that Section 18(c)(7) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and relevant OSHA regulations pertaining to State Plans, require all affected employers to submit injury and illness data in OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA) online portal, even if the employer is covered by a State Plan that has not completed adoption of its own state rule.
Before the recent correction, several states had not yet completed implementation of the electronic recordkeeping rule. Employers in those states were not required to submit their injury and illness data electronically until the state adopted the rule. The recent correction means that all employers in all states that are covered under the electronic recordkeeping requirements, regardless of whether they are under federal or state OSHA jurisdiction, must electronically submit injury and illness data for calendar year 2017 by July 1, 2018.
According to the agency’s press release, OSHA immediately notified State Plans and informed them that for Calendar Year 2017, all employers covered by State Plans will be expected to comply. Public sector (state and local government) establishments in these states are also subject to this requirement if they otherwise meet OSHA’s criteria for electronic submission of injury and illness records.
An employer covered by a State Plan that has not completed adoption of a state rule must provide Form 300A data for Calendar Year 2017. Employers are required to submit their data by July 1, 2018. There is no retroactive requirement for employers covered by State Plans that have not adopted a state rule to submit data for Calendar Year 2016.
The following employers are required to submit Form 300A data to OSHA electronically:
- Establishments with 250 or more employees that are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records
- Establishments with 20-249 employees in designated high-hazard industries