As
reported in July, OSHA is expanding its requirements to electronically submit employee injury data through its Final Rule on
Improving Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. Nearly all long term care (LTC) providers are already required to maintain OSHA 300 Logs, Form 301, and Form 300A, but for the last several years, have only submitted the 300A summary to OSHA—typically by March 2nd of the following year. The updated regulation requires electronic submission of OSHA 300 logs and Form 301 (incident reports), in addition to the 300A summaries that are already submitted electronically.
Under the updated Final Rule, OSHA will require electronic submission of 300, 300A, and 301 documents for employers in 'high-risk' industries with 100 or more employees. Those industries are listed in Appendix B and specifically include LTC providers, meaning that LTC providers with 100 or more employees will now be required to submit these documents electronically. If you are unsure whether your establishment is covered by these additional requirements, you can use OSHA’s ITA Coverage Application.
Importantly, much of the submitted information will be published publicly by OSHA, so employers must redact any employee-identifying information from the submitted forms to ensure privacy and comply with regulatory requirements.
The following includes a brief, but not exhaustive, list of potential changes to practices of many employers:
- OSHA has previously accepted alternative documents to the Form 301 if they provided same or similar incident information. Going forward, employers who are required to submit the information electronically must keep a separate Form 301.
- As stated above, employers have the burden to redact specific information that would allow the employee to be identified before submitting the forms. As a result, employers should implement additional review for employee-identifying information before submission.
- Employees will have greater access to the recorded information because it will be publicly reported (they should already have access "upon request"). As a result, employers should conduct additional verification to ensure the information is recorded accurately.
It's essential to understand that while this updated regulation goes into effect on January 1, 2024, it applies to the 2023 data you'll be submitting before March 2024. Meaning, the current year (2023) 300 logs, Form 301, and 300A summaries must comply with this new requirement and be submitted before March 2, 2024. We have included resources below to assist with electronic submission and to provide you with additional information from OSHA. OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA) will begin accepting 2023 injury and illness data on January 2, 2024.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov)