Last Wednesday, the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) passed a new rule that will greatly expand workplace injury reporting. Starting on July 1st of 2017 (when OSHA will begin phasing in the rule), more than 400,000 American workplaces will be required to submit injury and illness reports annually. It is likely that this new OSHA rule will greatly increase the cost of compliance for many ill-prepared American businesses.
The New OSHA Rule
The full text can be found here (or here in .pdf), but the gist of the rule is pretty simple: once the rule is phased in completely on March 2nd, 2019, all workplaces with more than 250 employees (plus workplaces with 20 or more employees in certain industries) will be required to file their OSHA 300A form every year. Larger companies will be required to submit full form 300 and 301 forms as well. This whole process will take place electronically. A summary of the rule can be found here.
OSHA’s Public Database
The objective of this new rule is for OSHA to compile a large database of workplace injuries and sicknesses. This will allow OSHA to better identify abnormally hazardous work conditions that previously might have gone unnoticed. OSHA plans to make a portion of this database publicly available online, which will put many businesses’ safety records a click away from prospective employees and clients. When this rule takes effect, safety violations will not just come with a fine, but also with a great deal of embarrassment.
How Quantum Can Help
Quantum offers an intuitive and comprehensive solution to OSHA’s new reporting regime. With our QSafety software, an employer can submit their form 300A with a few short clicks and keystrokes. More importantly, our product will help employers prevent the sort of embarrassing and costly incidents that get OSHA’s attention in the first place.
If you’re an employer, the new OSHA rule is poised to create new headaches for you and your colleagues. Quantum is able to help you through the process.
