by Judith E. Kramer
A new rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requiring employers to notify the agency when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye goes into effect on January 1 for workplaces under OSHA’s jurisdiction. The rule also updates the list of employers that are partially exempt from OSHA’s record-keeping requirements.
The previous regulation required employers to report work-related fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees within eight hours of the event. Reporting single hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye wasn’t required under the previous rule.
The new rule retains the requirement for employers to report work-related fatalities to OSHA within eight hours of the event but amends the regulation to require employers to report all work-related in-patient hospitalizations as well as amputations and losses of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours of the event.
Events can be reported to the nearest OSHA area office by phone during normal business hours, through the 24-hour OSHA hotline at 800-321-OSHA, or electronically through a new tool that will be released soon at www.osha.gov/report_online.
For more information on the regulation, see the October issue of Federal Employment Law Insider.
Judith E. Kramer is an attorney at Fortney & Scott, LLC in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at jkramer@fortneyscott.com.