Stricter OSHA Reporting Rules Take Effect
As of Jan. 1, private-sector employers nationwide face stricter reporting requirements for on-the-job injuries.
Previously, employers were required to notify the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration of all workplace fatalities, or when three or more workers were hospitalized in the same incident.
The new OSHA rules require employers to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours and all inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye within 24 hours of learning about it.
The reporting requirements will apply “to virtually all private-sector workplaces.”
Record-keeping requirements are changed as of Jan. 1: establishments in certain low-hazard industries — for example, florists, office supply stores and civic organizations — are also partially exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records, unless they are asked in writing to do so by OSHA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or a state agency operating under the authority of OSHA or the BLS.
Those employers who fall under those partly exempt categories are still bound by the newly strengthened reporting requirements.
Employers will have three reporting options: calling their nearest area office during normal business hours; calling the 24-hour OSHA hotline at (800) 321-OSHA; or filing reports online.
For more information, visit osha.gov
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