Industry News

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s updated record keeping rule includes two key changes. First, the rule updates the list of industries that are exempt from the requirement to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records due to relatively low occupational injury and illness rates. The previous list of industries was based on the old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and injury and illness data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from 1996-1998.

The new list of industries that are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records is based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and injury and illness data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from 2007- 2009.

Note: The new rule retains the exemption for any establishment with ten or fewer employees, regardless of their industry classification, from the requirement to routinely keep records.

Second, the rule expands the list of severe work related injuries and illnesses that all covered employers must report to OSHA. The revised rule retains the current requirement to report all fatalities within 8 hours and adds the requirement to report all inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye within 24 hours to OSHA.

The new requirements will take effect on January 1, 2015. Establishments located in states under Federal OSHA jurisdiction must begin to comply with the new requirements on January 1, 2015. Establishments located in states that operate their own safety and health programs should check with their state plan for the implementation date of the new requirements.

The new list of Partially Exempt Industries is available at HERE.