The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a memorandum providing guidance on how it plans to enforce compliance with its electronic reporting rule for establishments that fail to submit electronic illness and injury records due to operational issues with the injury tracking application (ITA).
Enforcement Guidance
The memorandum explains that employers will not be cited for failure to submit records by March 2, 2021, if:
- Their failure to comply was due to ITA performance problems; and
- Employers submitted the information as soon as the ITA became operational.
With this memo, OSHA has also signaled that they are working to ensure full employer compliance with the electronic reporting rule this year. The agency has until Sept. 2, 2021, to issue these citations.
Electronic Reporting Requirements
OSHA requires employers to electronically submit data from their OSHA Form 300A through the ITA by March 2 each year. The electronic reporting requirement applies to establishments with:
- More than 250 or more employees; or
- Twenty or more employees, but fewer than 250 employees, if they are listed as a high-risk industry.
Employer Action Steps
Employers should document obstacles and issues they encounter as they strive to comply with the OSHA electronic reporting rule. When OSHA’s ITA website causes the obstacles, employers should also comply (and document successful compliance) as soon as the ITA’s functionality is restored to avoid penalties.
Sectioned Information
March 2
Annual deadline for submitting electronic reports through OSHA’s ITA
May 6, 2021
OSHA issued an enforcement memo related to compliance with the electronic reporting rule
This Legal Update is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. © 2021 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.