AHCA/NCAL: OSHA Releases Final Rule on Improving Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) published a final rule on Improving Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. This rule, effective January 1, 2024, modifies existing requirements for reporting workplace injuries and illnesses. This rule directly impacts long term care (LTC) facilities (skilled nursing, assisted living, and intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled (ID/DD)) with more than 100 employees.

Existing Requirements 

OSHA has long-standing reporting requirements related to workplace injuries and illnesses. These requirements are applicable to “designated industries” or “industries that are required to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records,” both of which include LTC facilities (skilled nursing, assisted living and ID/DD).

• Establishments with 20-249 employees in certain designated industries are required to electronically submit information from their Form 300A annual summary to OSHA once a year.
• Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries that are required to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records will continue to be required to electronically submit information from the Form 300A to OSHA once a year.
• Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries that are required to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records to electronically submit information from the Form 300A summary to OSHA once a year.
• Establishments with 20-249 employees in certain designated industries to electronically submit information from their Form 300A summary to OSHA once a year.

This final rule makes no changes to the requirements listed above, so LTC employers must continue abiding by these requirements. 

New Requirement 

With the publication of this final rule, which goes into effect on January 1, 2024, OSHA is now requiring establishments with 100 or more employees in certain designated industries to electronically submit information from their OSHA Forms 300 and 301 to OSHA once a year.

In addition, OSHA will be requiring establishments to include their legal company name as part of their annual submission, which it intends to make publicly available on a database alongside the generalized information.

As with the requirements above, this includes LTC facilities (skilled nursing, assisted living and ID/DD).

OSHA Forms

A summary of the OSHA forms, which can be found on the OSHA recordkeeping website​, are as follows:

• OSHA Form 300, the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. This form includes information about the employee’s name, job title, date of the injury or illness, where the injury or illness occurred, description of the injury or illness (e.g., body part affected), and the outcome of the injury or illness (e.g., death, days away from work, job transfer or restriction).
• OSHA Form 301, the Injury and Illness Incident Report. This form includes the employee’s name and address, date of birth, date hired, and gender and the name and address of the health care professional that treated the employee, as well as more detailed information about where and how the injury or illness occurred.
• OSHA Form 300A, the Annual Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. This form includes general information about an employer’s workplace, such as the average number of employees and total number of hours worked by all employees during the calendar year. It does not contain information about individual employees. Employers are required to prepare this form at the end of each year and post the form in a visible location in the workplace from February 1 to April 30 of the year following the year covered by the form.

Next Steps

This final rule becomes effective on January 1, 2024. Employers must submit the required information by March 2, 2024.

NYSHFA | NYSCAL CONTACTS:

Jackie Pappalardi, RN, BSN
Executive Director
518-462-4800 x16

Lisa Volk, RN, B.P.S., LNHA
Director, Clinical & Quality Services
518-462-4800 x15