OSHA new rule requires all establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the record-keeping regulation to electronically submit to OSHA injury and illness information from OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301. Nursing facilities with 20-249 employees must also electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A only. Employers will need to submit their 300A log to OSHA’s secure website by July 1, 2017. (The site is expected to go live February 2017).
In addition, the new rule includes anti-retaliation provisions. Employers are required to implement procedures for reporting injuries or illnesses that are “reasonable” and do not deter workers from reporting. Highlights:
- Employer policies requiring an employee to immediately report an injury or be disciplined may also be retaliatory. The reporting policy must allow for reporting within a reasonable time after the employee realized that he or she had suffered a work-related injury, rather than just immediately (or within 24 hours) following the occurrence of an injury. In most instances, Kansas law requires that work related injuries or illnesses must be reported within 20 days for the injury to be compensable under workers’ compensation.
- Incentive programs that reward low-accident rates are viewed as retaliatory. Employer incentive programs may reward employees who correctly follow legitimate safety rules or promote worker participation in safety-related activities, such as identifying hazards or participating in investigations of injuries, incidents or “near misses”.
- Blanket, mandatory post-injury drug/alcohol testing is retaliatory. If employers wish to continue a post-injury testing policy, the policy should explain that employees will be tested when it is “reasonable” that drugs could have contributed to the incident, or “reasonable” the incident could have been made worse if drugs or alcohol were involved. Also, the drug/alcohol test used must accurately identify impairment caused by drug or alcohol use. OSHA has also indicated that if multiple employees are involved in an accident where one person is injured, if the employer chooses to drug/alcohol test, all employees involved should be tested. Employers should thoroughly document the reasons that prompted suspicion of drug and alcohol use when ordering a drug test.
