“OSHA created a rule that does nothing to achieve its stated goal of reducing workplace injuries and illnesses and ignored the concerns from industry that this rulemaking will have unintended negative consequences”, Greg Sizemore, the group’s vice president, said in a release.
Advertisement
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued two willful and eight serious citations on April 29, 2016. “No employer wants to be seen publicly as offering a risky workplace”.
“Without authority to do so, OSHA intends to post employer-, location- and incident-specific injury data”, Coalition for Workplace Safety co-Chairs Marc Freedman and Amanda Wood said in a statement. OSHA is adding requirements to its recordkeeping regulations for the electronic submISSion of injury and illness information employers are already required to keep.
This is a continuation of an updated rule from 2013 to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses electronically.
The final rule generally requires employers to submit electronically certain injury and illness information.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued its final rule, going into effect August 10, on new electronic record-keeping and reporting requirements for injuries and illnesses, and agency officials said making those records public are meant to “nudge” companies into creating safer workplaces. “The rule’s emphasis on data collected after injuries and fatalities occur is a step backward for safety professionals who work hard to move organizations toward measuring leading indicators, which better indicate how to avoid injuries and illnesses”.
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in a wide range of industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors.
In addition to the annual costs, OSHA estimated employers will spend about $16.6 million in first-year costs to comply with the rule. “Our new reporting requirements will “nudge” employers to prevent worker injuries and illnesses to demonstrate to investors, job seekers, customers and the public that they operate safe and well-managed facilities”.
David Michaels, OSHA’s director, asserted that the new rule placed little additional burden on companies. “The agency’s excessive reporting requirements will lead to employers being falsely branded as unsafe and will not reflect a company’s commitment to maintaining a safe workplace”.
The new rule will go into effect in January 2017.
Businesses must begin submitting the data on January 1, 2017.
Advertisement
National Association of Manufacturers’ Vice President for Labor Policy Rosario Palmieri, said in a May 11 statement that the regulation will lead to “unnecessary public shaming”, a complaint similar to industry objections to OSHA press releases on employers cited for violations (48 DLR C-2, 3/11/16).
