OSHA Publishes Its Final Electronic Record-Keeping Rule, Set to Go Into Effect in 2024
The announcement represents the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) second attempt at enhancing electronic record requirements—the first, proposed in 2016 during the Obama administration, was later rolled back by the Trump administration. The final electronic record-keeping rule will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, Construction Dive reports. It requires employers that have 100 or more employees in certain industries to submit information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301 once per year. Under the rule, covered employers will be required to make electronic data submissions to OSHA on March 2 of the year after the calendar year covered by each form, according to OSHA.
According to Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker, Congress's intention for the reporting procedures is to:
... “provide the agency and the public with an understanding of the safety and health problems workers face, and this rule is a big step in finally realizing that objective,” Parker said in a press release. “The safety and health community will benefit from the insights this information will provide at the industry level, while workers and employers will be able to make more informed decisions about their workplace’s safety and health.”