OSHA Requirements

The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a final rule that changes what types of accidents are required to be reported to the federal agency.

The new rule, which is effective Jan. 1, 2015, will require employers to notify OSHA of any work-related fatalities within eight hours and any work-related in-patient hospitalization or amputations or any work-related event resulting in the loss of an eye within 24 hours. The existing rule requires notification only for fatalities and any in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees from a single accident.

All employers, including those exempt from maintaining injury records under OSHA rules, are required to comply with the new reporting requirements.

Click HERE for additional information, including a link to the final rule and an Overview Fact Sheet that can be shared with your customers.

OSHA has maintained a list of employers that are required to maintain injury and illness records and that list has also been updated. The new list provides both newly covered industries and exemptions for employers in industries that have had relatively low accident and illness rates.

It's important to remember that OSHA requirements are separate to the reporting requirements that exist in the Iowa Workers' Compensation law and those established by the Workers' Compensation Division and are not related to whether a particular injury is compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act in Iowa.