New OSHA injury and illness tracking rules effective January 1
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration already requires employers to record workplace injuries and illnesses in an OSHA log. That’s been the standard for decades now. Now, the revised OSHA rules require most employers over 250 employees, and employers in high-risk industries with 20-249 employees, to report workplaces injuries and illnesses electronically. This workplace injury and illness data will be published to OSHA’s website, with personally identifiable information removed. (Many cities use a similar system for restaurant health inspections.)
The new regulations also ban employers from retaliating against employees who report injuries or illnesses. The anti-retaliation provision takes effect December 1, 2016. (The anti-retaliation provision was originally meant to take effect in August, but the implementation was delayed by a lawsuit filed in Texas.)
The new regulations are located at 81 FR 31854 and 81 FR 29624. State OSHA agencies are required to adopt substantially similar regulations within six months of the final rule becoming effective.