MEC&F Expert Engineers : OSHA is proposing to amend its recordkeeping regulations to clarify that the duty to make and maintain accurate records of work- related injuries and illnesses is an ongoing obligation.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

OSHA is proposing to amend its recordkeeping regulations to clarify that the duty to make and maintain accurate records of work- related injuries and illnesses is an ongoing obligation.




A public comment period on an amended OSHA rule, where the agency clarifies an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness over a five-year period, runs through September 28. 

OSHA proposes no new compliance obligations and does not call for any injury or illness records beyond existing requirements.

“Accurate records are not simply paperwork, but have an important, in fact life-saving purpose,” says Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “They will enable employers, employees, researchers and the government to identify and eliminate the most serious workplace hazards—ones that have already caused injuries and illnesses to occur.”

OSHA is issuing this proposed rule in light of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision spotlighting recordable injury or illness recordkeeping requirements. 

Members of the public can submit written comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov, the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.





• Publication Date: 07/29/2015
• Publication Type: Notice of proposed rule
• Fed Register #: 80:45116-45131
• Standard Number: 1904.0; 1904.4; 1904.4(a); 1904.7; 1904.29; 1904.29(a); 1904.29(b)(2); 1904.29(b)(3); 1904.32; 1904.32(a); 1904.32(a)(1); 1904.32(a)(2); 1904.32(b)(6); 1904.33; 1904.33(a); 1904.33(b)(1); 1904.33(b)(2); 1904.33(b)(3); 1904.35; 1904.40; 1904.40(a); 1904.41; 1911; 1952.4(a); 1952.4(b)
• Title: RIN 1218-AC84: Clarification of Employer's Continuing Obligation To Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45116-45131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office 
[www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18003]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR part 1904

[Docket No. OSHA-2015-0006]
RIN 1218-AC84


Clarification of Employer's Continuing Obligation To Make and
Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: OSHA is proposing to amend its recordkeeping regulations to
clarify that the duty to make and maintain accurate records of work-
related injuries and illnesses is an ongoing obligation. The duty to
record an injury or illness continues for as long as the employer must
keep records of the recordable injury or illness; the duty does not
expire just because the employer fails to create the necessary records
when first required to do so. The proposed amendments consist of
revisions to the titles of some existing sections and subparts, and
changes to the text of some existing provisions. The proposed
amendments add no new compliance obligations; the proposal would not
require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for
which records are not currently required to be made.