Effective January 1, 2015, OSHA is expanding the list of severe injuries that all employers must report. Currently, employers have to report all work-related fatalities and all work-related hospitalizations of three or more employees. Starting in 2015, employers will have to report the following to OSHA:
- All work-related fatalities
- All work-related inpatient hospitalizations of one or more employees
- All work-related amputations
- All work-related losses of an eye
Work-related fatalities must be reported within 8 hours of finding out about them. For any inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss, employers must report the incident within 24 hours of learning about it. Employers only have to report these occurrences if they happen within 24 hours of a work-related incident.
OSHA is also revising its recordkeeping requirements for 2015. The new recordkeeping regulations provide an updated list of low-hazard industries that will be exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records. The new list of exempt industries is now classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). It is important to note that OSHA’s revised recordkeeping regulations maintain the exemption for employers with ten or fewer employees.
Employers can find more information at OSHA’s webpage: www.osha.gov