OSHA Announces Two New Reporting Rules On Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
August 10, 2016 and January 1, 2017 are two important dates for employers to remember. That’s when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) new rules to improve tracking of workplace injuries and Illnesses go into effect.
Here’s how OSHA’s rules work:
▪ Beginning August 10, 2016, the rule requires employers to have a reasonable
procedure for employees to quickly and accurately report work-related injuries and
illnesses.
▪ Effective January 1, 2017, covered employers will begin submitting the injury and
illness reporting forms to OSHA electronically. OSHA will then publish the results on a
website available to the general public.
By August 10, 2016, employers must amend their injury and illness policies to include the following information:
(a) Expressly state that employees have a right to report work-related injuries and
illnesses.
(b) Provide a reasonable procedure for employees to report such workplace injuries and
illnesses.
(c) Not deter or discourage employees from reporting such injuries and illnesses, and
(d) Assure employees that the employer will not discriminate against nor retaliate
against them for making such reports.
Criterion (a) and (d) are self-explanatory. However, criterion (b) and (c) require further explanation. Regarding criterion (b), OSHA considers some injuries and illnesses, i.e. repetitive stress, nearly impossible to report immediately because the employee is often unaware of the injury or illness until a period of time after the onset of the condition. It should be noted that OSHA will consider allowing employees to report injuries as soon as reasonably known or recognized by the employee as reasonable.
For criterion (c), an employer's rule may not contain any kind of incentive that would cause a person to not report any type of workplace injury or illness. For example, a raffle rewarding those who do not have a work-related injury or illness is a direct violation of the law.
OSHA will consider automatic post-injury drug testing a disincentive to reporting injuries and illnesses as well. Post-accident policies now require the employer to make an individualized assessment about whether or not the use of drugs or alcohol was a contributing factor for the injury.
For example, assume Jim is at work driving a hi-lo. He accidentally backs into a large stack of pallets, which fall on top of Lisa, causing injury. The employer may test Jim for drugs or alcohol because of his carelessness/recklessness. However, the employer could not test Lisa since it is "very unlikely" that her injuries were caused by Lisa’s drug or alcohol usage. Therefore, existing drug-testing policies and procedures should remove any provision requiring automatic drug testing and replace the language with a requirement that the employer will conduct an individualized assessment for each case.
Employers must take the following steps prior to August 10, 2016:
- If an employer does not have an injury and illness reporting procedure, one must be created.
- Employers should review current safety policies to ensure that they don’t provide a disincentive to employees reporting injuries or illnesses, but do expressly prohibit discrimination or retaliation against employees who report injuries or illnesses.
- Review safety programs to ensure they don’t provide a disincentive to employees reporting injury or illness.
- Revise a post-injury drug testing policy to eliminate automatic post-injury drug testing and replace it with a policy that requires an individual assessment of each employee and accident.
- Train supervisors on how to identify impaired employees and how to document any incidents that may trigger OSHA reporting.
- Train employees on policy and reporting procedures and emphasize that the employer will not discriminate or retaliate against an employee who reports injuries or illnesses.
Implementation Made Easy. Here’s How Kapnick Can Help.
The Kapnick Risk Services Center tool is the ideal solution for employers to comply with these new changes. On the Kapnick Risk Services Center, clients will be able to easily and conveniently create and store their personal electronic OSHA log, as well as create an employee safety manual featuring “return to work” and “accident investigation”
