December 15th is fast approaching and if that date does not mean anything to you, you may need to listen up.
OSHA made changes to the required reporting of work related illness and injury for many employers. This enhanced tracking method is aimed at putting greater focus on safety in the workplace. Every organization with more than 250 employees that is required to track OSHA illness and injury records (Forms 300, 300A, and 301) will now be required submit this information electronically. Additionally, companies with 20-249 employees that are classified by OSHA as having a high rate of illness and injury are also required to report electronically (Form 300A). The list of companies classified as needing to report is extensive, covering construction, manufacturing and auto parts to multiple health care settings including residential care and nursing homes. For a complete list, here is a link to OSHA’s website.
The implementation of this new required reporting system is being phased in over time. For example, the requirement went into effect on January 1, 2017. The current deadline calls for all required organizations to submit their injury information from their 2016 Form 300A by December 15, 2017.
OSHA is providing three different ways to submit information, manually into a web form, upload a CSV file, and an automated recordkeeping system using an application programming interface. For detailed instructions and some questions and answers, please find this attached link for help.
While this looks like a complicated process, OHSA estimates that it will only take about 10 minutes to create an account and another 10 minutes to enter the required information.
If you are wondering what constitutes as a reportable injury, OSHA states “any injury that requires more than minor first aid, such as a trip to a doctor or emergency room to receive sutures (stitches), surgery, prescription medication or medical appliances (crutches, braces, casts, etc.), is a recordable injury”.
What is the cost to the employer if they fail to report? The fines for not reporting work related injuries is as high as $7,000 dollars.
I hope this information is useful to companies facing this deadline. Should you have any questions regarding this new requirement, Sage Solutions Group can help.