The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) kicked off the new year with a friendly reminder that covered employers must electronically submit Form 300A data for calendar year 2020 between January 2, 2021 and March 2, 2021. A paper copy of the 300A form must also be posted in for each establishment from February 1 through April 30.

By way of refresher, the recordkeeping regulation was revised in early 2019 to only require Form 300A data instead of additional records. The electronic filing requirement applies to two categories of establishments.

• The first category includes establishments with 20 to 249 employees that are in specific industries with higher instances of injury or illness. A full list of these industries can be found here. Many industries in this category have been most hard hit by COVID-19, such as nursing care facilities, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, manufacturers, and grocery stores.

• The second category includes establishments with 250 or more employees that are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records. In other words, establishments with 250 or more employees that are not otherwise exempted must electronically file the OSHA 300A.

In addition to these general categories, information must be provided if OSHA notifies you to do so for an individual data collection.

As explained in our previous blog post, work-related COVID-19 cases may trigger recording and reporting obligations, which would impact the 300A data. Employers should review OSHA’s Revised Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 when determining whether a COVID-19 case is recordable or reportable.  We also recommend contacting an attorney to ensure the accuracy of recording and reporting of COVID-19 cases. Throughout the pandemic many employers have needlessly recorded and overreported cases to OSHA, subjecting themselves to burdensome and costly inspections.

Employers can find detailed instructions for filing the 300A data on OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application webpage, as well as FAQs.