Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Requirements Final Rule Set to Be Implemented

Author: Ashley Shaw, XpertHR Legal Editor

December 30, 2014

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) final rule on Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements is set to be implemented this Thursday, January 1, 2015 for the federal regulations; state plan states have set their dates individually. Employers will need to begin complying with the new rule starting on the applicable date.

Some employers in industries that have been removed from the low-hazard industries list will need to begin to keep records on injuries and illnesses. In contrast, other employers who previously had to keep all OSHA records have now been added to the list of exempted industries and will no longer need to maintain certain records. The updated list is available on the OSHA website.

When the final rule is implemented, all employers, regardless of the exemption list, will need to comply with the new reporting requirements. This rule requires that:

  • All workplace fatalities must be reported within 24 hours; and
  • All in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of eyes must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours. If the hospitalization, amputation or loss of eye occurs within 30 days of the workplace incident, it is considered a reportable workplace incident.

As always, an employer may report any of these incidents by calling the OSHA hotline number at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or by calling or visiting its nearby OSHA office during regular operating hours.

In addition, OSHA is developing a web portal where an employer will be able to meet its reporting requirements directly on the OSHA site; however, it is not up yet.