OSHA Record-Keeping Rule Change |
Employment Law Alert: February 4, 2019OSHA Record-Keeping Rule ChangeLast week, OSHA published a Final Rule to amend its 2016 Record-keeping regulation. Most significantly, OSHA eliminated the requirement for certain establishments to electronically submit information from the OSHA Form 300 and OSHA Form 301 directly to OSHA (Oregon OSHA uses Form 801 versus OSHA Form 301). This is a reversal of an Obama-era requirement that mandated these records be submitted by employers with over 250 employees as well as employers in high hazard industries with 20 – 249 employees. While OSHA had procedures in place to de-identify data, legal challenges were raised due to potential exposures through a Freedom of Information Request, or through a website security breach. OSHA determined the enforcement-related benefit of access to this additional data did not outweigh the privacy and security risks. Why was this change made? What else changed? What hasn't changed? No change has been made to the Form 300A posting or submission requirements.
The final rule does not change any of the anti-retaliation provisions in the 2016 Rule. These provisions were meant to discourage disciplinary actions for injury reporting and safety violations, as well as limit the employer’s ability to perform post-incident drug testing without cause. Should we expect additional changes? |
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