Back in December, EHS Insight issued a report on OSHA’s new health and safety rule pertaining to the electronic data reporting system. The rule outlined requirements for employers to submit their injury and illness data into the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) system over the internet.
The deadline for this requirement has yet again been pushed back. Employers now have until July 1, 2018 to submit their data from 2017. This extension should give covered establishments more time to familiarize themselves with the ITA system.
Starting in 2019, employers will be required to submit annual information by no later than March 2nd.
The new rule does not replace the requirement for employers to post 300A forms for workers to read between February 1st and April 30th of each year.
The 300A forms, or Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, summarizes the incidents that occurred during the previous calendar year.
The forms included information on injuries, illnesses, fatalities, loss of consciousness, days away from work, restricted work activity, job transfers, and medical treatment beyond first aid. All work-related cases of cancer, chronic diseases, broken bones, and punctured ear drums must also be documented on the report.
In addition, the 300A form shows the Total Recordable Case Rate and the DART Incident Rate for days away, restrictions, and transfers.
Workers have a right to view this data. It gives them a snapshot of their company’s safety programs and incident rates. The forms must be posted in an area that all employees have access to.
Forms should already be posted at all establishments covered by this requirement.
All employers under OSHA’s jurisdiction who have 10 or more employees must complete the 300A forms.
Within 7 days of receiving information about an incident, employers must decide if the case is recordable based OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements.
To fill out the form correctly, employers must do the following:
Identify the employee involved (unless privacy laws are in effect); identify when and where the case took effect; describe the case with as much detail as possible; classify the seriousness of the case; identify whether the case was an injury or illness.
Only the Summary Page must be posted for employees to view. The rest must be reported to OSHA, but remain confidential from all other employees.
Employers who do not post the 300A Summary can be issued a citation from OSHA. Fines can reach a maximum of $12,934 per violation.
For more information on OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, visit their OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements page on their website.
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