New England Biz Law Update
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a final rule that will require certain employers in high-hazard industries to submit more injury and illness information to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Effective January 1, 2024, certain businesses in high-hazard industries must submit their Form 300-Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses and Form 301-Injury and Illness Incident Report to OSHA once a year. This requirement is in addition to the Form 300A data they already submit.
Here are a few key elements employers need to be aware of:
Public disclosure: OSHA will publish the submitted data on a public website. It’s expected that this public site will include safety data, accident narratives, accident counts, injury types, and other information that is not considered employees’ personal identifiable information.
While the effort has been described as a “public shaming” initiative, analysts say OSHA will also use the information to compare peer establishments, identify high injury rates, and target future visits.
Key dates: Data for calendar year 2023 must be submitted by March 2, 2024.
Applicability: The requirement will apply to business locations that have 100 or more employees at any point during the year and whose “primary activity” falls within certain categories. Note, any business that must currently report 300A data must continue to do so.
NAICS codes: More than 100 NAICS codes will be affected including:
- Amusement parks and arcades
- Building contractors, foundation, exterior
- Freight trucking
- Hospitals and healthcare
- Long-term and assisted care
- Manufacturing, various
- Retail, various, including grocery and department stores
- Warehousing and storage
- Waste collection
Employers are advised to review the list and determine whether their business is affected. You may wish to evaluate whether your business’s primary activity falls within an affected NAICS code or whether an alternate, non-affected category would be appropriate and defensible.
