www.agc.org • December 2013

OSHA Announces Proposed New Rule to Change Reporting of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

On Nov. 7, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a proposed rule to amend its current recordkeeping regulations to require the electronic submission of injury and illness information. The proposed rule would require construction firms with more than 250 employees to electronically submit detailed records on a quarterly basis to OSHA, which would then be made available to the public online. OSHA is also proposing that firms with 20 - 249 employees be required to submit only their summary of work-related injuries and illnesses once a year. AGC knows that OSHA already has access to this data during an inspection. However, we are concerned about potential problems with the public dissemination of this information. Our concerns include identifying who is responsible for any website inaccuracies; the possible failure to sanitize personal data of employees from the records; how data will be characterized by competitors; and the possible misinterpretation of data by people lacking the construction expertise to evaluate the specifics of a reported incident. For more information, please contact AGC’s Director of Safety and Health Kevin Cannon at cannonk@agc.org.