Environmental, Health, and Safety Professionals: OSHA Amended its Reporting Rules

Here’s a post for all you Environmental, Health, and Safety professionals following this blog.

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration or Agency) has changed its reporting requirements for certain types of businesses with relatively low rates of occupational illness or injury. The list is based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) which replaces the old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. Although the change reduces the number of businesses subject to routine recordkeeping, it expands the list of “severe work-related injuries” reportable by all employers.

The effective date for the new Rule is January 1, 2015. States that operate their own occupational safety and health programs may not have amended their programs to align with the federal changes, although they are being encouraged to do so. Thus, be sure to confirm that you are subject to federal and not state rules before abandoning your recordkeeping program.

All employers subject to OSHA jurisdiction must report the following incidents to the Agency, even if part of an industry exempt from routine recordkeeping:

 All work-related fatalities (within 8 hours of knowledge);
 All work-related hospitalizations of one or more employees (within 24 hours);
 All work-related amputations (within 24 hours); and
 All work-related eye loss (within 24 hours).

The list of Partially Exempt Industries can be found here.