OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Changesfor 2015

Thomas Benjamin HuggettLittler Mendelson, PC

www.osha.gov

Thomas Benjamin HuggettLittler Mendelson, P.C.

1601 Cherry StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19102tbhuggett@littler.com

(267) 402-3035

Presented by: Official Resources and Text

The Basic Rules

• Employers must record work-related injuries and illnesses that meet a specified threshold criteria.

– Basic First Aid cases are not recordable

• Employers must report specific work-related incidents.

Determination of Work

• If an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a preexisting injury or illness to the point that it meets OSHA recordability criteria, a work relationship is established

Determination of Work Relatedness

• Off-Premises

– Injuries and illness that result from an event or exposure off the employer’s premises are work related only if the worker was engaged in work-related activities or is present as a condition of his/her employment

• On Premises

– Injuries and illnesses that result from an event or exposure on the employer’s premises are presumed to be work related

– However, there are

• Exceptions

• Rebuttals

Determination of Work Relatedness

• “Reliance on the geographical presumption thus covers cases in which an event in the work environment is believed likely to be a causal factor in an injury or illness but the effect of work cannot be quantified.” 66 Fed. Reg. 5948

– “Believed” – to accept as real or true

– “Likely” – possessing or displaying the qualities or characteristics that make something probable

• “Unlikely”

Determination of Work Relatedness

• Good Faith Determination

– “As is the case for all injuries and illnesses, the employer must make a good faith determination about work-relatedness in each case, based on the available evidence.” 66 Fed. Reg. 6018

– “If you receive recommendations from two or more physicians … you must make a decision as to which recommendation is the most authoritative (best documented, best reasoned, or more authoritative) and record the case based upon that recommendation.” 1904.6(3)

Recordkeeping Exemptions

• employers with ten or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year

• establishments in specified low-hazard retail trade, finance, insurance and real estate, service industries where the 3 year average lost workday case rate 25% or more below overall 3 year average of the rate for all industry combined

Rulemaking Changes

• Change from Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

– changes list of exempt employers

– employers must determine their own NAICS classification and compare it to Table 1

Newly Covered Employers

• 3118 Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing• 4411 Automobile dealers• 4413 Automotive parts, accessories, and tire stores• 4441 Building material and supplies dealers• 4452 Specialty food stores• 4453 Beer, wine, and liquor stores• 4539 Other miscellaneous store retailers• 4543 Direct selling establishments• 5311 Lessors of real estate• 5313 Activities related to real estate• 5322 Consumer goods rental• 5324 Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental

and leasing• 5419 Other professional, scientific, and technical services

Newly Covered Employers

• 5612 Facilities support services• 5617 Services to buildings and dwellings• 5619 Other support services• 6219 Other ambulatory health care services• 6241 Individual and family services• 6242 Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief

services• 7111 Performing arts companies• 7113 Promoters of performing arts, sports, and similar events• 7121 Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions• 7139 Other amusement and recreation industries• 7223 Special food services• 8129 Other personal services

Reporting to OSHA

No exempt employers! Everyone must report!

•Report all work-related Fatalities within 8 hours

– includes only work-related heart attacks

– includes terrorist attacks

– excludes automobile accidents on public roads

• Excepting construction work zones

– excludes commercial plane train, or bus accidents

If death occurs more than 30 days after a work-related incident, it is not reportable.

Reporting to OSHA in 2015

• Within 24 hours, report all work-related:

– in-patient hospitalization of any employee(s)

• Was previously 3 or more employees in 8 hours

– amputations

• includes loss of fingertip, without bone loss

– loss of an eye

Must be reported to OSHA only if they occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

Rationale

"Hospitalizations and amputations are sentinel events, indicating that serious hazards are likely to be present at a workplace and that an intervention is warranted to protect the other workers at the establishment.“

Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health

Reporting to OSHA

• You can report to OSHA by

– Calling your closest Area Office during normal business hours.

– Calling OSHA's free and confidential number at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

– Using the new online form tbd

What Must be Reported

• Establishment name• Location of the work-related incident• Time of the work-related incident• Type of reportable event (i.e., fatality, in-patient

hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye)• Number of employees who suffered the event• Names of the employees who suffered the event• Contact person and his or her phone number• Brief description of the work-related incident

State Plan States – 1/01/2016

State Plan States – Action

• Arizona 3/15/2015• Indiana 3/01/2015• Iowa 1/14/2015• Maryland 11/5/2015• Michigan 3/18/2015• New Mexico 1/01/2015• Nevada 1/01/2015• North Carolina 1/01/2015• Oregon 3/18/2015

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Alaska – report the in-patient hospitalization of any employee within 8 hours of the work-related incident

– if the employer first learns of the incident and hospitalization after 8 hours, but before 30 days, it must be reported

– for fatalities and in-patient hospitalization of 2 or more employees, maintain accident scene

Existing Specific State Reporting

• California – immediately (within 15 minutes) report any fatality, in patient hospitalization, or serious injury or illness

"Serious injury or illness" means (a) inpatient hospitalization for a period in excess of 24 hours or (b) suffers a loss of any member of the body or suffers any serious degree of permanent disfigurement

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Hawaii – report property damage in excess of $25,000 as a result of a work-related incident within 8 hours

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Kentucky – Within seventy-two (72) hours report

– (a) an amputation (bone loss) suffered by an employee; or

– (b) the inpatient hospitalization any employee

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Michigan - employer must report known or suspected cases of occupational diseases or workplace aggravated health conditions within 10 days after discovery

– Specific form required

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Minnesota

– serious injuries must be reported within 48 hours after its occurrence

– injuries which wholly or partly incapacitate an employee from performing labor or service for more than three calendar days shall be reported on a specific form within 10 days

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Oregon – report the overnight hospitalization of any employee within 24 hours of the incident

– Accident scene must be maintained

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Utah - any disabling, serious, or significant injury and any occupational disease incident shall be reported within 8 hours

– Accident scene must be maintained

• The employer shall file a specified report within 7 days

– Employee must receive a copy

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Washington – within 8 hours an employer must report a probable death or the inpatient hospitalization of any employee

– Accident scene must be maintained

• Employers are required to conduct and document a “preliminary investigation” for all serious injuries

Existing Specific State Reporting

• Wyoming – employers must file a written Report of Injury with Workers’ Safety and Compensation within 10 days

Reporting Changes Impact

• OSHA estimates 25,000 new reports in the states that it covers

– additional new reports for State Plans

• OSHA Inspections?

– Investigation

– Report

– Corrective actions

• Online Publication by OSHA

Reporting to OSHA

• Mechanical power press injuries

– within 30 days of the occurrence report to Director of Directorate of Safety Standards Programs in Washington all point of operation injuries to operators or other employees

29 C.F.R. 1910.217(g)

Reporting to OSHA

• 13 Regulated Carcinogens

– initially and within 15 days of any change, a description of the operation and utilization of a carcinogen

– within 24 hours any incidents which result in a release of a carcinogen

– within 15 days a written report on a release

29 C.F.R. 1910.1003(f)

Questions?

Thomas Benjamin HuggettLittler Mendelson, P.C.

1601 Cherry StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19102tbhuggett@littler.com

(267) 402-3035