Tag Archives: Stevenson v. Fedex

New OSHA recordkeeping rules, which take effect on January 1, 2015, will require employers to report more types of work place injuries and report them more quickly.  However, a new federal court decision may make it harder to comply as the court ruled that employers are barred from requiring an employee to notify the employer before seeking medical treatment for a work related injury.

New OSHA Recordkeeping Rule

OSHA recently announced two key changes to its recordkeeping rule that will take effect on January 1, 2015.

First, all employers must now report:

• All work-related fatalities within 8 hours.
• All work-related hospitalizations, all amputations, and all losses of an eye within 24 hours.

Reports can be made by:

• Calling OSHA’s free and confidential number at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).
• Calling your closest OSHA Area Office during normal business hours.

OSHA is in the process of developing an online form for this purpose which should be available very soon.  Prior to the new rule, OSHA required an employer to report only work-related fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees.  These requirements apply to all employers, including those who are otherwise exempt from the requirement to routinely keep records of work-related injury or illness.

Second, OSHA has updated and reduced the list of industries exempt from the requirement to routinely keep injury and illness records.  The new rule retains the exemption for businesses that maintain ten or fewer employees during the prior calendar year, regardless of industry classification. Read More…