Devised to maintain accountability and “nudge” employers toward injury and illness prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued its final rule that modernizes data collection to better inform workers, employers, the public and OSHA about workplace hazards.
OSHA currently requires many employers to keep a record of injuries and illnesses to help them and their employees identify hazards, fix problems and prevent additional injuries and illnesses. However, little or no information about worker injuries and illnesses at individual locations is made public or available to OSHA. Under the new rule, employers in high-hazard industries must send OSHA injury and illness data electronically for posting on the agency’s website.