Recordkeeping & Reporting: How the Revised Standard Affects Industry

History of the Regulations

In place since 1971 Proposed changes announced in February

1996 (“The Revision of the Injury & Illness Recordkeeping System”)

Revision announced on January 18, 2001 Final rule published in Federal Register on

January 19, 2001 Final rule effective January 1, 2002

What are the regulatory requirements?

OSHA regulations address: Occupational injury and illness

recording Occupational injury and illness

reporting

Applicable regulations: 29 CFR 1904 29 CFR 1952

What is the purpose of the regulations?

Provide employers with a tool for tracking and recording workplace illnesses and injuries

Aid employers with recognizing workplace hazards and correcting hazardous conditions

Allow OSHA to track trends in safety

What prompted revisions to the regulations?

Industry complaints Former recordkeeping requirements were

complicated Former recordkeeping forms were

cumbersome

Confusing regulations Former regulations included only

requirements Interpretations were found in many forms

Former regulations did not include provisions for needlestick and sharps injuries

Former regulations included complicated criteria for reporting musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)

OSHA attempting to revise, update, and simplify all regulations

What prompted revisions to the regulations? (continued)

All employers subject to the OSH Act Exempt from most requirements: Industries

classified as low-hazard sectors e.g., Retail, service, finance, insurance, and real estate List revised to reflect recent industry illness/injury data.

Excluded from full reporting requirements: Religious establishments Household employees performing ordinary domestic

tasks Certain volunteers

Who is subject to theregulations?

Excluded from full reporting requirements: (continued) Industries classified under SIC codes 52-809,

except codes 52-54, 70, 75, 76, 79, and 80 Small businesses (10 or less employees) Sheltered workshops and job training programs

(unless personnel are compensated) Stockholders (unless employed by the corporation

in which they hold stock) Self-employed persons

Who is subject to theregulations? (continued)

Primary Improvements to the Standard

Better definition of work-related injuries Clarified definition of restricted work Provisions for improved employee

awareness and involvement Provides workers or their representatives

access to the information on recordkeeping forms

Increases awareness of potential hazards in the workplace

Provisions for employee privacy

Primary Improvements to the Standard (continued)

“Plain English” wording Question and answer format Inclusion of checklists and flowcharts Inclusion of interpretations as well as

requirements Simpler forms Flexibility for using computers to meet

requirements

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule

Updated recordkeeping forms OSHA Form 300: Log of Work-related Injuries

and Illnesses Replaces Form 200: Log and Summary of

Occupational Injuries & Illnesses Simplified reporting requirements Printed on smaller legal sized paper

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Updated recordkeeping forms (continued) OSHA Form 301: Injury and Illness Incident

Report Replaces Form 101: Supplementary Record of

Occupational Injuries & Illnesses Includes more data about how injury or illness

occurred

OSHA Form 300A: Summary of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses (easier calculation of incident rates)

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Eliminates different criteria for recording work-related injuries and work-related illnesses New rule uses one set of criteria for injuries

and illnesses. Former rule required employers to record all

illnesses, regardless of severity. New rule accounts for severity of illness.

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Requires records to include any work-related injury or illness resulting in: Death Days away from work Restricted work or transfer to another job Medical treatment beyond first aid Loss of Consciousness Diagnosis of a significant injury/illness by

licensed health care professional

Note: Exposures in and of themselves are not recordable.

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Includes new definitions to simplify recording decisions Medical treatment First aid Restricted work

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Requires a significant degree of work-related aggravation before a pre-existing injury or illness becomes recordable

Includes separate provisions describing recording criteria for cases involving work-related transmission of tuberculosis

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Add additional exemptions to the definition of work-relationship Limits recording of cases involving

eating/drinking food beverages Limits recording of common colds and flu Limits recording of blood donations Limits recording of exercise programs Limits recording of mental illness

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Clarifies recording of “light duty” or “restricted work” cases Requires employers to record cases when

injured/ill employee is restricted from normal duties

Defines normal duties: duties the employee performs at least once weekly

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Conforms with new ergonomics standard Requires employees to record all needlestick

and sharps injuries involving contamination by another person’s blood or body fluids

Applies same recording criteria to MSDs as to all other injuries and illnesses

Revised recordkeeping forms have separate column for recording MSDs

Employers retain flexibility to determine whether an event or exposure in work environment caused or contributed to MSD

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Requires employers to record standard threshold shifts (STS) in employees’ hearing Defines STS: an adverse change in an

employee’s hearing threshold, relative to his/her most recent audiogram

Requires recording hearing loss cases at 10 dB shift, rather than 25 dB shift

Provides a separate column on Form 300 to capture statistics on hearing loss

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Changes regarding lost/restricted work Change in terminology

Eliminates “lost workdays” Focuses on “days away” or “days restricted or

transferred”

Includes new regulations for counting days Rely on calendar days instead of workdays

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Changes to employer requirements Employers must establish procedure for

employees to report injuries and illnesses Employers must tell employees how to report Employers are prohibited from discriminating

against employees who report With change of ownership, seller must turn

over OSHA records to buyer

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Changes to employee rights Privacy rights

Prohibits employers from entering an individual employee’s name on Form 300 for certain types of injuries/illnesses

Sexual assaults HIV infections Mental illness

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Changes to employee rights (continued) Privacy rights

Provides employers the right not to describe the nature of sensitive injuries where the employee’s identity would be known

Gives employee access to portions of Form 301 relevant to the employee they represent

Requires employers to remove employees’ names before providing data to persons not provided access under the rule

Summary of Key Provisions to New Recordkeeping Rule (continued)

Requires the annual summary to be posted for three months (Feb. 1 to April 30) instead of one

Requires certification of annual summary by a company executive

Changes reporting of fatalities and catastrophes to exclude some motor carrier and motor vehicle incidents

Allows all forms to be kept on computer equipment or at alternate location

General Impact of Changes

Final rule anticipated to impact approximately 1.3 million establishments Some changes will increase number of

recordable cases; some will decrease number OSHA anticipates roughly same number of

reported injuries/illnesses

Newly exempt industries will experience reduced costs

General Impact ofChanges (continued)

Newly covered industries will experience additional costs and benefits Must learn new requirements Must revise computer systems used for

recordkeeping

Areas of Potential Cost Savings

Form 300: Less time to complete simpler forms

Exemptions from the requirement to consider certain cases work-related (will result in less cases being recorded)

Elimination of different recording criteria for injuries and illnesses (will result in less cases being recorded)

Areas of PotentialCost Savings (continued)

Changes to the requirements for recording illnesses and injuries with days away or job restriction/job transfer (will result in less cases being recorded)

Changes to the criteria for recording cases of tuberculosis (will result in less cases being recorded)

Changes to the criteria for recording fatality/catastrophe incidents (will result in less cases being recorded)

Areas of PotentialCost Savings (continued)

Elimination of separate recording criteria for MSDs (will result in less cases being recorded)

Improvement in determining recordability of illness/injury

Allowance of computerized and centralized records

Areas of Potential Cost Increases

Form 300A Requires increased employer review of data

and additional data on the average employment/hours worked at establishment

Changes result in higher quality data, but more time and cost to employer

Changes to the definitions of medical treatment and first aid (will result in more cases being recorded)

Areas of PotentialCost Increases (continued)

Change to the criteria for recording cases of hearing loss (will result in more cases being recorded)

Change to the criteria for recording needlestick and sharps injury (will result in more cases being recorded)

Increased employee involvement Employee privacy protections

Benefits of the Revised Regulations

More accurate data regarding occupational illnesses and injuries

Simplified overall recordkeeping systems for employers

Better protection for employees’ privacy

“The revision… will not lessen an employer’s recordkeeping responsibilities, but it will make it easier to successfully meet the requirements.” — Sec. of Labor, Alexis Herman

Resources for Additional Information

Web site: www.osha.gov OSHA Region IV (Alabama, Florida, Georgia,

Mississippi): 404-562-2300 29 CFR 1904: Occupational Injury and Illness

Recording and Reporting Requirements “The Blue Book”: Recordkeeping Guidelines for

Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Available from OSHA Last updated in 1991