On January 25, 2019, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration ("OSHA") issued its final rule on the Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. The rule rescinds the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report). The rule still requires covered establishments to maintain both forms on site for OSHA inspection. Covered establishments will also continue to submit information regarding work-related injuries and illnesses electronically via Form 300A.

Additionally, the final rule modifies the record-keeping regulation, which now requires covered establishments to submit their Employer Identification Number (EIN) electronically along with their Form 300A submission data.

Although the workplace incentive programs and post-incident drug testing included in the 2016 Obama-era rule was not the focus of the Trump administration's rulemaking, the new rule states that its limited scope "does not prohibit workplace safety incentive programs or post-incident drug testing. To the extent the 2016 preamble suggested otherwise, it has been superseded." The Trump-era administration hopes this final rule will improve enforcement targeting and compliance assistance, and decrease the burden on employers.

Information courtesy of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C.

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