For employers who are required to maintain work-related injury and illness records, its that time of year again. Employers covered by OSHA’s recordkeeping rule are required to prepare and post the OSHA Form 300A, “Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses,” beginning February 1 and keep the form posted until April 30.  The form must be posted at each establishment covered, in a conspicuous place where notices to employees are customarily posted.

Prior to posting, a company executive must review the OSHA 300A and certify that “he or she has examined the OSHA 300 Log and that he or she reasonably believes, based on his or her knowledge of the process by which the information was recorded, that the annual summary is correct and complete.”

Under OSHA’s rule, a company executive can be one of the following:  (1) an owner of the company (only if the company is a sole proprietorship or partnership); (2) an officer of the corporation; (3) the highest ranking company official working at the establishment; or (4) the immediate supervisor of the highest ranking company official working at the establishment.

OSHA can cite an employer who fails to post the OSHA Form 300A as required.  Employers should take steps now to ensure they are fully compliant.

Additionally, for those employers covered by OSHA’s Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses regulation, this year the electronic submission of each establishment’s 2018 300A Annual Summary is required to be filed no later than March 2, 2019 using the Injury Tracking Application on OSHA’s website.  This date differs from past years as the phase in period for the regulation comes to an end.  For each year hereafter, the 300A will be required to be electronically filed no later than March 2.

Since last year OSHA  has also required those employers in state plans that have not adopted the Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses requirements to submit their 300A Forms.  Although the agency has acknowledged that since OSHA does not have jurisdiction in those states with state plans, it is prohibited from enforcing the regulation and can not issue citations to employers for failing to electronically submit the 300A, and since those certain state plans have yet to adopt the regulation they are equally prohibited from enforcing the requirement and can not issue citations to employers. Be sure to check with your state plan to determine whether they have fully adopted the new requirements.

More information, including a section on Frequently Asked Questions, on the electronic submission of the 300A Forms can be found on OSHA’s website.