As has been expected for a few months now, OSHA has officially removed the requirement for large companies with 250 or more employees to submit OSHA Forms 300 and 301. The administration cited privacy concerns as the reason for the change.
According to the press release, issued on January 24, 2019, OSHA has officially issued a final rule eliminating the requirements. While the Form 300, which is the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and the Form 301, which is the Injury and Illness Incident Report, will not need to be electronically filed, OSHA will still enforce the requirement to submit OSHA Form 300A, which is the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. Forms 300 and 301 must still be maintained by each employer in a physical form on-site.
The OSHA Form 300A does not contain any sensitive individual worker data, only generalized numbers of injuries and illnesses incurred by the employees overall during the previous year. The final rule also adds a requirement onto the electronic filing of the OSHA 300A document. Employers will now be responsible for submitting their EIN number when they file electronically, which will help OSHA and the BLS better use the data gained by 300A filings.
You are currently able to submit your company’s Form 300A for 2018 data electronically and the deadline is March 2, 2019. For more information about the electronic filing process, visit OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application website.
Final Rule: Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses | Federal Register
Falls are, by far, the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry, accounting for nearly 40% each year. That fact is the main reason why personal fall protection devices are so heavily stressed in the industry. But, even if your fall is arrested by a harness, you’re not out of the woods yet, as serious complications can happen while you’re being suspended in the air.