OSHA Delays Electronic Reporting Submittal Requirement

Initially, OSHA’s rule on submitting injury and illness records electronically had a compliance deadline for certain employers of July 1, 2017. However, according to the OSHA Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements webpage, they are not accepting electronic submissions of injury and illness logs at this time.  OSHA is proposing extending the July 1, 2017 date.

To stay updated on the reporting date requirements, visit the OSHA Recordkeeping page.

Electronic Submission

When OSHA’s website is ready for electronic submission, employers will have the option of three different ways to submit the data from their completed 2016 OSHA Form 300A.  Employers will be able to manually enter data into a web form, upload a CSV file (which will allow data from multiple sites to be entered at once), or to submit the data through API (application programming interface). APIs allow  different applications (or software programs) to exchange information directly with one another.

Electronic Reporting Compliance by Industry Type

Employers in these high risk industries with 20-249 employees are required to submit their injury and illness summary, Form 300A, to OSHA electronically.
All employers with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A electronically. We are currently waiting for OSHA’s update as to when the electronic reporting will become available.

Why Submit Electronically?

The intent behind requiring employers to submit their injury and illness data electronically was to facilitate the analysis of the data. OSHA would be able to analyze the data in order to allocate its enforcement and compliance assistance resources more efficiently. The goal is also to use this information and share it publicly to aid workplace safety efforts.