UPDATES TO OSHA’S RECORDKEEPING RULE

Unlike most of us who won’t keep our New Year’s resolutions, OSHA has some changes in store for 2015 that it is sure to stick with. Specifically, OSHA’s recordkeeping rules have been updated to identify which employers are required to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records and the types of work-related injuries or illnesses that must be reported.

As before, employers with ten or fewer employees during the previous calendar year are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records. The update does not change the ten employee rule, but it provides a brand new list of low-hazard industries exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records. Several industries are newly exempt — like broadcasting, gas stations, religious organizations, and full-service restaurants. Others industries — such as auto dealers, beer, wine and liquor stores, bakeries, performing arts companies and museums — are no longer exempt and are now required to keep injury and illness records.

The new OSHA standards add to the list of what kind of incidents must be reported. Employers must report all workplace fatalities within 8 hours of their occurrence, and must also report all work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. Previously, businesses were only required to report workplace accidents that resulted in injuries or illness to three or more employees at a time.

These new rules may change whether you are required to routinely report injuries and illnesses to OSHA.  If you have any questions regarding the new OSHA rules and how they apply to your company, please contact Seth Briskin or Lester Armstrong at (216) 831-0042 or visit us on the web at www.meyersroman.wpengine.com