In a final rule published today in the Federal Register, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has axed the Obama-era electronic reporting of injury and illness data by employers with 250 or more employees.
The final rule applies only to OSHA Forms 300 and 301. Form 300A must still be filed electronically by all covered employers.
The rule states:
Elimination of the requirement that establishments with 250 or more employees submit information electronically from their OSHA Forms 300 and 301 – a requirement that has not yet been enforced – does not change any employer’s obligation to complete and retain injury and illness records under OSHA’s regulations for recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses. The final rule also does not add to or change the recording criteria or definitions for these records.
While the business community is largely on board with the decision to eliminate electronic reporting of the two forms, pro-labor groups are broadly opposed.
The pro-labor element sees the government shutdown as an ally. These groups have expressed concern that, since the reviewing agency — the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) — carried out its review on Jan. 18, 2019, the agency may have broken the Antideficiency Law, which prohibits the government from spending if funds have not been appropriated by Congress. Indeed, the same day as the final rule Public Citizen filed suit against the change, but it was not based on a violation of the government shutdown.