New Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules have taken effect, revising injury and illness recordkeeping requirements and serious occupational injury and illness reporting requirements for employers.
On January 1, 2015, new OSHA rules took effect, revising injury and illness recordkeeping requirements and serious occupational injury and illness reporting requirements for employers.
Recordkeeping Requirements
OSHA has updated its list of employers that are required to maintain occupational injury or illness records. A number of retail industries have been removed from the list due to low occupational injury and illness rates, while other industries have been added. Employers with ten or fewer employees during the entire prior calendar year remain exempt from maintaining OSHA injury and illness records. Among the retail industries that are now subject to OSHA's recordkeeping rules are:
Automotive dealers (selling new and used cars).
Auto parts stores.
Specialty food stores.
Beer, wine and liquor stores.
Among the retail industries that are no longer subject to OSHA's recordkeeping rules are:
Automotive dealers of vehicles other than cars (including motor homes, boats and motorcycles).
OSHA's revised reporting requirements are more expansive than its recordkeeping requirements. Under these requirements, all employers covered by OSHA must report:
Any work-related death within eight hours of learning of the incident.
Any in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours of learning of the incident.