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April 5, 2024
OSHA has new requirements for reporting workplace injuries and illnesses for 2024 that went into effect beginning March 2nd. Any business with more than 100 employees in certain designated high-hazard industries must submit injury and illness logs electronically each year. Take care to remain compliant with new OSHA requirements that periodically result from important rules updates.
How to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses: Two New Requirements
OSHA's latest update has two new requirements that are the core of the overall changes. Understanding these two new requirements is essential to remaining compliant with OSHA standards when reporting and tracking workplace injuries and illnesses.
Electronic Submissions
Companies that meet the requirements for qualification, such as having 100 or more employees in a high-hazard industry, must submit their log of work-related injuries and illnesses electronically. This reporting must include the following forms:
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Form 300: Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
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Form 301: Injury and Illness Incident Report
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Form 300A: Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
Legal Company Name
OSHA has been outspoken about its intention to improve the quality of the data it collects from business reports. To help accomplish this goal, they now require that all electronic submissions to OSHA for illness and injury records include the legal company name.
Submission Options
To submit data electronically through the Injury Tracking Application, your business will have three different methods available.
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Webform: The webform on the ITA website allows you to easily submit the data straight to the source.
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CSV File: If your data is present outside of the webform, you do not have to transfer it over. Instead, you can simply submit the CSV file.
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API Feed: An application programming interface or API feed is acceptable if you have automated your reporting process already.
OSHA Intends to Publicize Data
OSHA has voiced its intention to publicize some of the data it collects through this reporting apart from personally identifying information. This data will be posted on a public website that anyone can access, which includes lawyers and unions who would be interested in information regarding workplace injuries and illnesses. Any businesses that are found to have a significant number of work-related injuries and illnesses — whether from heat, unsanitary conditions, or other hazards — are likely to be prone to more inspections from OSHA.
Benefits of New OSHA Rules
With these new OSHA rules in place, businesses are more motivated to prioritize workplace safety in high-hazard industries. The data collected will allow OSHA to investigate establishments with specific hazards on a case-by-case basis, directly addressing the source of the problem rather than spreading their efforts industry-wide to include businesses that already have suitable safety standards. Even so, this new data will additionally offer insight into overall industry trends.
Since the information is going to be public, businesses will be able to make more informed decisions about their workplace safety practices. If a business, for example, notices an industry trend of a certain kind of injury, it can actively work to establish safety standards designed to prevent that specific kind of injury from occurring. This is likely to reduce the overall number of occupational injuries and illnesses suffered by workers. Explore OSHA’s checklist for compliance for guidance on how to stay compliant in your reporting practices.
Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses with a PEO
SPLI can assist your business with gathering information so you can report workplace injuries and illnesses in accordance with the new OSHA rules. With the amount of forms and special requirements involved, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Contact our team today, and discover how we can assist you.
