OSHA’s New Recordkeeping Requirements

You may be familiar with the OSHA requirement for certain employers to submit the OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses electronically on an annual basis. If not, here is a quick summary of the requirements:

• Employers with over 250 employees must keep OSHA injury and illness records, and submit an electronic copy of their OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses annually by March 2.
• Employers with 20-249 employees in certain high-hazard industries (designated in Appendix A of 1904 Subpart E) must also electronically submit a copy of their 300A annually by March 2. These high-hazard industries include manufacturing, retail, transportation, and many other occupations.

On Friday, July 21, 2023, Federal Register, Vol. 88, No. 139 published an amendment to the OSHA Occupational Injury and Illness recordkeeping regulation. The amendment added the following to the existing recordkeeping requirements.

• “Establishments with 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries must electronically submit information from their Form 300-Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301-Injury and Illness Incident Report to OSHA once a year. These submissions are in addition to the submission of Form 300A-Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.”
• “To improve data quality, establishments are required to include their legal company name when making electronic submissions to OSHA from their injury and illness records.”

The amendment also updated Appendix A, mentioned above, and created a new Appendix B. Appendix B is the list of high-hazard industries (a little over 100) and their associated NAICS codes.

Some high-hazard industries were taken from Appendix A and added to Appendix B. These industries and NAICS codes are those with the highest DART Rate (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred) and/or fatalities. OSHA believes that by requiring additional information from these industries, they will be able to reduce employee injury and illness more effectively within those industries.

The original requirements for those establishments with 250 employees or more and those with 20-249 employees that appear in Appendix A of Subpart E remain the same. They must file an annual report electronically, but only information on the OSHA Form 300A. Those on Appendix B must submit portions of the OSHA Form 300, 300A, and 301 on an annual basis.

Now is a good time to check and see if your industry is on either Appendix A or B.

Not sure of the requirements? Don’t know where to look? Contact Walden’s experienced EHS team at 516-271-1948. We’ll be happy to help you make sense of the regulations and ensure that you are in compliance.