OSHA (Again) Delays Enforcement of New Employer Retaliation Provisions

OSHA last week announced that, until December 1, 2016, it will not enforce new anti-retaliation provisions included in a workplace injury and illness reporting rule finalized earlier this year.

The OSHA anti-retaliation measures, which in theory are designed to protect employees from being fired or punished for reporting unsafe working conditions, now face challenges from industry groups that feel OSHA failed to consider available evidence and wrongly judged some legitimate safety programs as forms of “retaliation” when creating the standards. 

Groups who brought the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court of Texas, include the National Association of Manufacturers; Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.; American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers; and others.

See OSHA’s News Release here.

Electronic OSHA Injury and Illness Reporting

The Rule, which also requires many employers to electronically report injury and illness data recorded on OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301, was initially set to take effect on August 10, 2016. OSHA later delayed enforcement of the retaliation provisions until November and has now extended the delay until December 1. 

Read more about electronic injury and illness reporting here. The first electronic reports will be due to OSHA in March 2017.

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Tags: new, osha, reporting and recordkeeping, rules