The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced on Monday that it has fixed an error in the way it implemented a 2016 rule requiring construction firms to file injury reporting data online.
As of Jan. 1, 2017, OSHA began requiring that employers electronically submit their Form 300A data tracking injuries and illnesses that take place on job sites. However, in implementing the “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” regulation, OSHA determined that some employers in California, Maryland, Minnesota, South Carolina, Utah, Washington and Wyoming would not be required to file their injury data electronically because those states had not adopted the requirement.
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Monday’s announcement reverses that interpretation.
“Section 18(c)(7) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and relevant OSHA regulations pertaining to State Plans, require all affected employers to submit injury and illness data in the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) online portal, even if the employer is covered by a State Plan that has not completed adoption of their own state rule,” OSHA wrote in a statement.
Although the rule applies to employers in all states, it doesn’t apply to all employers. Construction firms with multiple establishments have to file 2017 data for each location, except those that had fewer than 20 employees at any point during the prior calendar year. That includes part-time, seasonal and temporary workers.
OSHA did not change the deadline to file Form 300A data. Covered employers must file their 2017 data by July 1, 2018. Starting in 2019, the deadline will change to March 2.