On Nov.8, OSHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require employers to submit specific injury and illness data electronically to OSHA on a quarterly or annual basis. 

OSHA plans to amend its current recordkeeping regulations to add requirements for the electronic submission of injury and illness information. Employers are currently already required to keep injury and illness information under existing standards. 

Under the rule, establishments with 250 or more employees will be required to submit injury and illness records on a quarterly basis to OSHA.  Establishments with 20 or more employees in industries with high injury and illness rates (construction), will be required to submit a summary of their work-related injuries and illnesses electronically once a year. 

OSHA’s plan is to use the data collected and post the information on an online publicly searchable database. 

OSHA has given the public 90 days to submit comments on the proposed rule; comments are due Feb. 6, 2014. OSHA also announced it will be holding a public meeting on the rule at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 9, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Requests to attend or participate in the hearing must be made through the docket.

For more information on the new proposed rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses visit OSHA’s website. 

*Update: OSHA granted a 30 day extension for submitting written comments; comments are due March 10, 2014.