Safety

OSHA issues new rule for workplace safety

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a final rule designed to modernize injury data collection to better inform workers, employers, the public and OSHA about workplace hazards. With this new rule, OSHA says it is applying the insights of behavioral economics to improve safety and to prevent injuries and illnesses.

OSHA requires many employers to keep a record of injuries and illnesses to help these employers and their employees identify hazards, fix problems and prevent additional injuries and illnesses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports more than 3 million workers suffer a workplace injury or illness every year. The agency says little or no information about worker injuries and illnesses at individual employers is made public or available to OSHA. Under the rule, employers in high-hazard industries will send OSHA injury and illness data that the employers already are required to collect for posting on the agency’s website.

OSHA says it expects that public disclosure of work injury data will encourage employers to increase their efforts to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses.

“Since high injury rates are a sign of poor management, no employer wants to be seen publicly as operating a dangerous workplace,” says David Michaels, assistant secretary of occupational labor. “Our reporting requirements will nudge employers to prevent worker injuries and illnesses to demonstrate to investors, job seekers, customers and the public that they operate safe and well-managed facilities.”

The availability of this data will enable prospective employees to identify workplaces where their risk of injury is lowest, OSHA says. As a result, the agency adds, employers competing to hire the best workers will make injury prevention a higher priority. This also will enable employers to benchmark their safety and health performance against industry leaders to improve their own safety programs, OSHA says.

The requirements take effect Aug. 10, 2016, with phased-in data submissions beginning in 2017. These requirements do not add to or change an employer’s obligation to complete and retain injury and illness records under the Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation.