OSHA Provides Update After the First Year of a New Severe Injury Reporting Requirement

/ Global Compliance Solutions Group LLC/

On March 17, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a report that details the results of the first year (CY2015) of a new reporting requirement related to severe work-related injuries.  The news release states there were "over 10K severe worker injuries reported in first year of OSHA requirement" and that "most employers cooperated with OSHA to fix hazards, but some tried to hide them". 

The new reporting responsibility requires employers to report severe work-related injuries within 24 hours of occurrence.  A severe work-related injury is defined as a "hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye".  The existing requirement to report a work place fatality within eight hours remains in place.    

In 2015 employers reported 10,388 severe injuries (including 7,636 hospitalizations and 2,644 amputations).

The top 5 industry groups reporting severe injuries were:

  • Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors
  • Building Equipment Contractors
  • Support Activities for Mining
  • Nonresidential Building Construction
  • Postal Service

The author of the report, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels, said “In case after case, the prompt reporting of worker injuries has created opportunities for us to work with employers we wouldn’t have had contact with otherwise".

OSHA intends to use the reporting data to target enforcement efforts and to "engage employers in high-hazard industries to identify and eliminate hazards". The

A copy of the full report is available here: "Year One of OSHA’s Severe Injury Reporting Program: An Impact Evaluation"

A complete list of injury reports by industry is available here: 2015 Injury Report

OSHA provides guidance on how to report injuries here: Report a Fatality or Severe Injury

OSHA Publishes 2016 Hazard Classification Guidance

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OSHA recently published a new 2016 hazard classification guidance document titled "Hazard Classification for Manufacturers, Importers, and Employers". 

The 432 page document outlines the basic applicability of the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) as well as the hazard classification process.  According to OSHA, the document is designed to "help manufacturers and importers of chemicals not only identify chemical hazards, but also to classify these hazards so that workers and downstream users can be informed about and better understand these hazards as required by OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard." 

If you are responsible for any aspect of compliance with the HCS or for classifying chemical hazards you will find this guidance document helpful.