Please read the following update to the reporting and recording requirements under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH). We encourage you to forward along this information to those in your organization responsible for reporting OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301, as the following information may impact the reporting requirements of your business.
Earlier this year, OSHA made a final rule, which the Virginia Register of Regulations summarizes as follows:
In a final rule, federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted amendments (i) rescinding the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301 and (ii) requiring covered employers to submit their employer identification number electronically with their injury and illness data, which will facilitate use of the data and may help reduce duplicative employer reporting.
In this regulatory action, the Safety and Health Codes Board is adopting this final rule.
OSHA’s rule went into effect February 25, 2019. Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) has adopted the federal amendments, and the updated Virginia regulation went into effect May 15, 2019. As a reminder, OSHA Form 300 is a Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. OSHA Form 301 is an Injury and Illness Incident Report.
What does this mean for your business?
- If you have an establishment with 250 or more employees, no longer will you be required to electronically submit OSHA Forms 300 and 301. That said, you must still maintain those records on-site.
- According to OSHA, “An establishment is a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.”
- Therefore, the above electronic submission change applies ONLY to single locations with 250 or more employees. HOWEVER, in instances where a dealer group has multiple dealerships on the same property, OSHA might consider all the rooftops as being part of one establishment, bringing such stores into coverage, should the combined employee number reach or exceed 250.
- As OSHA states, “In addition to reporting required after severe injuries, establishments will continue to submit information from their Form 300A.” This is to be done electronically. Form 300A is a Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.
- OSHA adds that “The requirement to keep and maintain OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301 for five years is not changed by this final rule.”
- Finally, according to the rule, “OSHA is amending the recordkeeping regulation to require covered employers to submit their Employer Identification Number (EIN) electronically along with their injury and illness data submission, which will facilitate the use of the data and may help reduce duplicative employer reporting.”
Lastly, keep in mind:
- If your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics informs you in writing that you must do so.
- It follows that if your company had more than 10 employees at any time during the last calendar year, you must keep OSHA injury and illness records.
For more information on the final rule, please click here and here. For an explanation and/or reminder of the relationship between OSHA and VOSH, click here.
Should you have specific questions about the information herein and its effect on your store(s), we encourage you to consult your dealership’s legal counsel. For more general inquiries, please reach out to VADA GSIA General Manager Michael Allen or Tommy Lukish, Esq. Michael can be reached at (804) 545-3012 or MAllen@VADA.com. Tommy is available at (804) 545-3028 or TLukish@vada.com.