Lawsuit Aims to Halt New OSHA Injury Reporting Rule

In May, OSHA published a Final Rule that, among other things, requires employers to file annual electronic reports of injury and illness data. In that Final Rule, OSHA made it clear that the Administration plans to share employer injury and illness information it receives with the public via the Internet. 

While employers were already required to keep record of workplace injury and illness on forms like the OSHA 300, 300A, and 301, submitting these reports to OSHA is a new requirement. The fact that these injury reports will be made available for public consumption has raised red flags for some groups that represent employers in major industries like chemical manufacturing, oil and gas production, precious metals, and more.

Now, a suit has been filed in the US District Court of Texas to challenge the new OSHA reporting rule.
Calling the new rule “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion,” the suit alleges that OSHA failed to consider available evidence, unfairly pre-judged certain safety programs as “retaliatory,” and did not sufficiently demonstrate its justification for expanding employer reporting requirements.

“…out of a misguided zeal to improve accuracy of reporting on workplace injuries…OSHA has lost sight of the importance of reducing the number and severity of injuries themselves,” the complaint reads.

Plaintiffs taking on OSHA in this case include the National Association of Manufactures, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, and others.

Better Training Means Fewer Reportable Injuries

OSHA safety training at Lion.com will prepare your workers to identify, avoid, and mitigate the hazards they face at work. Protect your work force from accidents, injuries, and lost time, which hurt productivity and cost US businesses tens of billions of dollars every year. 

Tags: new, osha, reporting and recordkeeping, rules