Employers with 250 or more workers will not be required to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report).
The agency issued a final rule to protect worker personal data collected by an employer from being publicly disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Companies are still required to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses).
However, the final rule does not alter an employer’s duty to maintain OSHA Forms 300 and 301 on-site, and OSHA will continue to obtain these forms as needed through inspections and enforcement actions.
The new rule will allow OSHA to focus its resources on initiatives that its past experience has shown to be useful—including continued use of information from severe injury reports that helps target areas of concern, and seek to fully utilize a large volume of data from Form 300A.
The agency also amending the recordkeeping regulation to require covered employers to electronically submit their Employer Identification Number with their information from Form 300A. The final rule’s requirement for employers to submit their EIN to OSHA electronically along with their information from OSHA Form 300A will make the data more useful for OSHA and BLS, and could reduce duplicative reporting burdens on employers in the future.
OSHA has determined that this final rule will allow OSHA to improve enforcement targeting and compliance assistance, protect worker privacy and safety, and decrease burden on employers.
Collection of Calendar Year 2018 information from the OSHA Form 300A began on Jan. 2, 2019. The deadline for electronic submissions is March 2, 2019.