[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 217 (Friday, November 8, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67254-67283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26711]
[[Page 67253]]
Vol. 78
Friday,
No. 217
November 8, 2013
Part III
Department of Labor
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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29 CFR Parts 1904 and 1952
Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2013 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 67254]]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR Parts 1904 and 1952
[Docket No. OSHA-2013-0023]
RIN 1218-AC49
Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this rulemaking is to improve workplace safety
and health through the collection of useful, accessible, establishment-
specific injury and illness data to which OSHA currently does not have
direct, timely, and systematic access. With the information acquired
through this proposed rule, employers, employees, employee
representatives, the government, and researchers will be better able to
identify and abate workplace hazards. OSHA is proposing to amend its
recordkeeping regulations to add requirements for the electronic
submission of injury and illness information employers are already
required to keep under OSHA's regulations for recording and reporting
occupational injuries and illnesses. The proposed rule amends the
regulation on the annual OSHA injury and illness survey of ten or more
employers to add three new electronic reporting requirements. The
proposed rule does not add to or change any employer's obligation to
complete and retain injury and illness records under OSHA's regulations
for recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses. The
proposed rule also does not add to or change the recording criteria or
definitions for these records. The proposed rule only modifies
employers' obligations to transmit information from these records to
OSHA or OSHA's designee.
DATES: Comments: Comments must be submitted by February 6, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments: You may submit comments, identified by docket
number OSHA-2013-0023, or regulatory information number (RIN) 1218-
AC49, by any of the following methods:
Electronically: You may submit comments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the federal e-rulemaking portal. Follow
the instructions on the Web site for making electronic submissions;
Fax: If your submission, including attachments, does not exceed 10
pages, you may fax it to the OSHA docket office at (202) 693-1648;
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service:
You must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to the
OSHA Docket Office, Docket Number OSHA-2013-0023, U.S. Department of
Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210;
telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number is (877) 889-5627).
Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are
accepted during the Department of Labor's and docket office's normal
business hours, 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
Instructions for submitting comments: All submissions must include
the docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2013-0023) or the RIN (RIN 1218-
AC49) for this rulemaking. Because of security-related procedures,
submission by regular mail may result in significant delay. Please
contact the OSHA docket office for information about security
procedures for making submissions by hand delivery, express delivery,
and messenger or courier service.
All comments, including any personal information you provide, are
placed in the public docket without change and may be made available
online at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions you
about submitting personal information such as Social Security numbers
and birthdates.
Docket: To read or download submissions in response to this Federal
Register notice, go to docket number OSHA-2013-0023, at http://regulations.gov. All submissions are listed in the http://regulations.gov index. However, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download through that
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA docket office.
Electronic copies of this Federal Register document are available
at http://www.regulations.gov. This document, as well as news releases
and other relevant information, is available at OSHA's Web site at
http://www.osha.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For press inquiries: Frank Meilinger,
OSHA Office of Communications, Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor,
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202)-693-
1999; email: [email protected].
For general and technical information on the proposed rule: Miriam
Schoenbaum, OSHA Office of Statistical Analysis, Room N-3507, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210;
telephone (202) 693-1841; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA is proposing to amend its recordkeeping
regulations to add requirements for the electronic submission of injury
and illness information employers are already required to keep under
OSHA's regulations for recording and reporting occupational injuries
and illnesses. This proposed rule would amend the regulation on the
annual OSHA injury and illness survey of ten or more employers to add
three new electronic reporting requirements. First, OSHA will require
establishments that are required to keep injury and illness records
under OSHA's regulations for recording and reporting occupational
injuries and illnesses, and that had 250 or more employees in the
previous year, to electronically submit information from these records
to OSHA or OSHA's designee on a quarterly basis. Second, OSHA will
require establishments that are required to keep injury and illness
records under OSHA's regulations for recording and reporting
occupational injuries and illnesses, had 20 or more employees in the
previous year, and are in certain designated industries to
electronically submit the information from the OSHA annual summary form
(Form 300A) to OSHA or OSHA's designee on an annual basis. The second
submission requirement will replace OSHA's annual injury and illness
survey, authorized by the current version of the regulation. Third,
OSHA will require all employers who receive notification from OSHA to
electronically submit specified information from their Part 1904 injury
and illness records to OSHA or OSHA's designee.
Table of Contents
I. Legal Authority
II. Background
a. Recordkeeping Rule
b. Data Collections
1. OSHA Data Initiative
2. BLS Survey of Injuries and Illnesses
c. OSHA Access to Establishment-Specific Injury and Illness
Information
d. Benefits of Electronic Data Collection
e. Publication of Electronic Data
III. Stakeholder Meetings and Public Comments
IV. Summary and Explanation of the Proposed Rule
a. Description of Proposed Revisions
1. Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)--Quarterly Electronic Submission of Part
1904 Records by Establishments With 250 or More Employees
2. Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)--Annual Electronic Submission of OSHA
Annual Summary Form (Form 300A) by Establishments
[[Page 67255]]
With 20 or More Employees in Designated Industries
3. Sec. 1904.41(a)(3)--Electronic Submission of Part 1904
Records Upon Notification
4. Sec. 1904.41, Paragraphs (b)(1)-(b)(6)
5. Sec. 1952.4(d)
b. Issues, Alternatives, and Questions
1. Issues
2. Alternatives
i. Alternative A--Monthly Submission Under Proposed Sec.
1904.41(a)(1)
ii. Alternative B--Annual Submission Under Proposed Sec.
1904.41(a)(1)
iii. Alternative C--One-Year Phase-in of Electronic Reporting
Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
iv. Alternative D--Three-Year Phase-in of Electronic Reporting
Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)
v. Alternative E--Widen the Scope of Establishments Required to
Report Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
vi. Alternative F--Narrow the Scope of Establishments Required
to Report Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
vii. Alternative G--Three-Step Process of Implementing the
Reporting Requirements Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and (2)
viii. Alternative H--Narrow the Scope of the Reporting
Requirements Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and (2)
ix. Alternative I--Enterprise-Wide Submission
3. Questions
V. Preliminary Economic Analysis and Regulatory Flexibility
Certification
a. Introduction
b. Costs
1. Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)--Quarterly Electronic Submission of Part
1904 Records by Establishments With 250 or More Employees
2. Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)--Annual Electronic Submission of OSHA
Annual Summary Form (Form 300A) by Establishments With 20 or More
Employees in Designated Industries
3. Sec. 1904.41(a)(3)--Electronic Submission of Part 1904
Records Upon Notification
4. Budget Costs to the Government for the Creation of the
Reporting System, Helpdesk Assistance, and Administration of the
Electronic Submission Program
5. Total Costs of the Rule
c. Benefits
d. Regulatory Alternatives
1. Estimated Additional Costs for Alternative I--Enterprise-Wide
Submission
2. Benefits of Alternative I--Enterprise-Wide Submission
e. Economic Feasibility
f. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
VI. OMB Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
VII. Unfunded Mandates
VIII. Federalism
IX. State Plan States
X. Public Participation
a. Public Submissions
b. Access to Docket
Authority and Signature
Amendments to Standards
I. Legal Authority
OSHA is issuing this proposed rule pursuant to authority expressly
granted by sections 8 and 24 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
(the ``OSH Act'' or ``Act'') (29 U.S.C. 657, 673). Section 8(c)(1)
requires each employer to ``make, keep and preserve, and make available
to the Secretary [of Labor] or the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, such records regarding his activities relating to this Act as
the Secretary . . . may prescribe by regulation as necessary or
appropriate for the enforcement of this Act or for developing
information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational
accidents and illnesses'' (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(1)). Section 8(c)(2)
directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations ``requiring employers to
maintain accurate records of, and to make periodic reports on, work-
related deaths, injuries and illnesses other than minor injuries
requiring only first aid treatment and which do not involve medical
treatment, loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or
transfer to another job'' (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(2)). Finally, section
8(g)(2) of the OSH Act broadly empowers the Secretary to ``prescribe
such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary to carry out [his]
responsibilities under this Act'' (29 U.S.C. 657(g)(2)).
Section 24 of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 673) contains a similar grant
of authority. This section requires the Secretary to ``develop and
maintain an effective program of collection, compilation, and analysis
of occupational safety and health statistics'' and ``compile accurate
statistics on work injuries and illnesses which shall include all
disabling, serious, or significant injuries and illnesses . . .'' (29
U.S.C. 673(a)). Section 24 also requires employers to ``file such
reports with the Secretary as he shall prescribe by regulation'' (29
U.S.C. 673(e)). These reports are to be based on ``the records made and
kept pursuant to section 8(c) of this Act'' (29 U.S.C. 673(e)).
Further support for the Secretary's authority to require employers
to keep and submit records of work-related illnesses and injuries can
be found in the Congressional Findings and Purpose at the beginning of
the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 651). In this section, Congress declares the
overarching purpose of the Act to be ``to assure so far as possible
every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working
conditions'' (29 U.S.C. 651(b)). One of the ways in which the Act is
meant to achieve this goal is ``by providing for appropriate reporting
procedures. . . [that] will help achieve the objectives of this Act and
accurately describe the nature of the occupational safety and health
problem'' (29 U.S.C. 651(b)(12)).
The OSH Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to issue two types of
occupational safety and health rules: Standards and regulations.
Recordkeeping requirements promulgated under the Act are characterized
as regulations (see 29 U.S.C. 657 (using the term ``regulations'' to
describe recordkeeping requirements)). Standards aim to correct
particular identified workplace hazards, while regulations further the
general enforcement and detection purposes of the OSH Act (e.g.,
Workplace Health & Safety Council v. Reich, 56 F.3d 1465, 1468 (D.C.
Cir. 1995) (citing Louisiana Chemical Ass'n, 657 F.2d 777, 781-82 (5th
Cir. 1981)); United Steelworkers of America v. Auchter, 763 F.2d 728,
735 (3d Cir. 1985)).
This proposed regulation does not infringe on employers' Fourth
Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment protects against searches and
seizures of private property by the government, but only when a person
has a ``legitimate expectation of privacy'' in the object of the search
or seizure (Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 143-47 (1978)). There is
little or no expectation of privacy in records that are required, by
the government, to be kept and made available (Free Speech Coalition v.
Holder, 729 F.Supp.2d 691, 747, 750-51 (E.D. Pa. 2010) (citing cases);
U.S. v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435, 442-43 (1976); cf. Shapiro v. U.S., 335
U.S. 1, 33 (1948) (no Fifth Amendment interest in required records)).
Accordingly, the Fourth Circuit held, in McLaughlin v. A.B. Chance,
that an employer has little expectation of privacy in the records of
occupational injuries and illnesses kept pursuant to OSHA regulations,
and must disclose them to the Agency on request (842 F.2d 724, 727-28
(4th Cir. 1988)).
Even if there were an expectation of privacy, the Fourth Amendment
prohibits only unreasonable intrusions by the government (Kentucky v.
King, 131 S.Ct. 1839, 1856 (2011)). The proposed information submission
requirement is reasonable. The requirement serves a substantial
government interest in the health and safety of workers, has a strong
statutory basis, and rests on reasonable, objective criteria for
determining which employers must report information to OSHA (see New
York v. Burger, 482 U.S. 691, 702-703 (1987)). See the discussion in
sections I, above, and II.d., below.
[[Page 67256]]
OSHA notes that two courts held, contrary to A.B. Chance, that the
Fourth Amendment required prior judicial review of the reasonableness
of an OSHA field inspector's demand for access to injury and illness
logs before the agency could issue a citation for denial of access
(McLaughlin v. Kings Island, 849 F.2d 990 (6th Cir. 1988); Brock v.
Emerson Elec. Co., 834 F.2d 994 (11th Cir. 1987)). Those decisions are
inapposite here. The courts based their rulings on a concern that field
enforcement staff had unbridled discretion to choose the employers and
circumstances in which they would demand access. The Emerson Electric
court specifically noted that in situations where ``businesses or
individuals are required to report particular information to the
government on a regular basis[,] a uniform statutory or regulatory
reporting requirement [would] satisf[y] the Fourth Amendment concern
regarding the potential for arbitrary invasions of privacy'' (834 F.2d
at 997, fn.2). This proposed rule, like that hypothetical, would
establish general reporting requirements based on objective criteria
and would not vest field staff with any discretion. The employers that
are required to report data, the information they must report, and when
they must report it are clearly identified in the text of the rule and
in supplemental notices that will be published pursuant to the
Paperwork Reduction Act. The proposed rule is similar in these respects
to the existing rule that authorizes reporting pursuant to the OSHA
Data Initiative and is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment (see 62 FR
6434, 6437-38 (Feb. 11, 1997) for a discussion of Fourth Amendment
issues in the final rule on Reporting Occupational Injury and Illness
Data to OSHA).
II. Background
OSHA estimates that this rule will have economic costs of $11.9
million per year, including $10.5 million per year to the private
sector, with costs of $183 per year for affected establishments with
250 or more employees and $9 per year for affected establishments with
20 or more employees in designated industries. The Agency believes that
the annual benefits, while unquantified, significantly exceed the
annual costs.
Benefits include:
Better compliance with OSHA's statutory directive ``to
assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation
safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human
resources'' (29 U.S.C. 651(b)) ``by providing for appropriate reporting
procedures with respect to occupational safety and health which
procedures will help achieve the objectives of this Act and accurately
describe the nature of the occupational safety and health problem'' (29
U.S.C. 651(b)(12)).
Increased workplace safety as a result of expanded OSHA
access to timely, establishment-specific injury/illness information.
OSHA access to this information will allow OSHA to use its resources
more effectively by enabling the Agency to identify the workplaces
where workers are at greatest risk, in general and/or from specific
hazards, and to target its compliance assistance and enforcement
efforts accordingly.
Increased workplace safety as a result of making timely,
establishment-specific injury/illness information public and easily
available to employers. Public access to this information will
encourage employers to maintain and improve workplace safety/health in
order to support their reputations as good places to work and/or do
business with. Employers will also be able to compare their own injury/
illness rates to those of other employers.
Increased workplace safety as a result of making timely,
establishment-specific injury/illness information public and easily
available to employees, employee representatives, and potential
employees. Public access to this information will allow current
employees to compare their workplaces to the best workplaces for safety
and health and will allow potential employees to make more informed
decisions about potential places of employment.
Increased workplace safety as a result of making timely,
establishment-specific injury/illness information public and easily
available to customers and potential customers. Public access to this
information will allow members of the public to make more informed
decisions about current and potential companies with which to do
business.
Improved research on occupational safety and health.
Public access to timely, establishment-specific injury and illness
information will allow researchers to identify patterns of injuries or
illnesses that are masked by the aggregation of injury/illness data in
existing data sources.
a. Recordkeeping Rule
In 1971, OSHA promulgated 29 CFR Part 1904, Recording and Reporting
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (Part 1904). This rule requires the
recording of work-related injuries and illnesses that involve death,
loss of consciousness, days away from work, restriction of work,
transfer to another job, medical treatment other than first aid, or
diagnosis of a significant injury or illness by a physician or other
licensed health care professional (29 CFR 1904.7).
Between 1994 and 2001, OSHA completely revised Part 1904. Amended
recordkeeping regulations went into effect in 1994 (Reporting
fatalities and multiple hospitalization incidents to OSHA, 29 CFR
1904.39) and 1997 (Annual OSHA injury and illness survey of ten or more
employers, 29 CFR 1904.41). The bulk of the revisions occurred in 2001,
when OSHA issued a final rule amending its requirements for the
recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses (29 CFR
Parts 1904 and 1952), along with the forms employers use to record
those injuries and illnesses (66 FR 5916 (Jan. 19, 2001)).
Under 29 CFR 1904.1 and 1904.2, three categories of employers are
required to keep OSHA injury and illness records:
1. Employers under OSHA jurisdiction with 11 or more employees,
unless the establishment is classified in a partially-exempt industry
(specific low-hazard retail, service, finance, insurance, or real
estate industries, listed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1904 Subpart B).
2. Employers with ten or fewer employees, if OSHA or the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) informs them in writing that they must keep
records under Sec. 1904.41 (Annual OSHA injury and illness survey of
ten or more employers) or Sec. 1904.42 (Requests from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics for data).
3. Establishments in partially-exempt industries, if OSHA or BLS
informs them in writing that they must keep records under Sec. 1904.41
(Annual OSHA injury and illness survey of ten or more employers) or
Sec. 1904.42 (Requests from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for data).
The recordkeeping rule currently covers approximately 750,000
employers with approximately 1,500,000 establishments. Under Sec.
1904.29, covered employers must complete Form 301 (Injury and Illness
Incident Report) for each injury and illness at a covered establishment
and record each injury and illness on Form 300 (Log of Work-Related
Injuries and Illnesses). In addition, each year, the employers must use
the information from these forms to complete Form 300A (Summary of
Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) for each covered establishment.
The records required by the recordkeeping rule provide OSHA and
consultants in OSHA's On-Site
[[Page 67257]]
Consultation Program with important information. However, OSHA
currently does not acquire the information in these records unless the
establishment receives an inspection or is part of the OSHA Data
Initiative.
At the beginning of an inspection, an OSHA representative reviews
the establishment's injury and illness records to help focus the
inspection on the safety and health hazards suggested by the records.
OSHA consultants conduct a similar review when an establishment has
requested a consultation. Also, as discussed below, OSHA currently uses
establishment-specific injury and illness information obtained through
the OSHA Data Initiative to help target the most hazardous worksites
and the worst safety and health hazards. Finally, detailed, aggregate
injury and illness data published by the BLS Survey of Injuries and
Illnesses help OSHA identify and characterize occupational safety and
health problems and allocate enforcement and compliance assistance
resources.
b. Data Collections
Currently, two Department of Labor data collections request and
compile employers' injury and illness records: The annual OSHA Data
Initiative (ODI), conducted by OSHA, and the annual Survey of
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), conducted by BLS. This
rulemaking affects the ODI by replacing the current version of Sec.
1904.41. It does not change the authority of the SOII, which is
conducted pursuant to Sec. 1904.42.
1. OSHA Data Initiative (ODI)
OSHA's mission is to assure safe and healthful working conditions
for working men and women. The primary purpose of the ODI is to enable
OSHA to focus its efforts on individual workplaces with ongoing serious
safety and health problems, as identified by the occupational injury
and illness rates at those workplaces. Authority for the ODI comes from
Sec. 1904.41 (Annual OSHA injury and illness survey of ten or more
employers).
The ODI consists of larger establishments (20 or more employees) in
the manufacturing industry and in an additional 70 non-manufacturing
industries. These are industries with historically high rates of
occupational injury and illness. Currently, there are over 160,000
unique establishments that are subject to participation in the ODI. The
ODI is designed so that each eligible establishment receives the ODI
survey at least once every three-year cycle. Each year, the ODI sends
the survey to approximately 80,000 establishments (1.1% of all
establishments nationwide), which typically account for approximately
700,000 injuries and illnesses (19% of injuries and illnesses
nationwide).
The ODI survey collects the following data from Form 300A (Summary
of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) from each establishment:
Number of cases (total number of deaths, total number of
cases with days away from work, total number of cases with job transfer
or restrictions, and total number of other recordable cases);
Number of days (total number of days away from work and
total number of days of job transfer or restriction);
Injury and illness types (total numbers of injuries, skin
disorders, respiratory conditions, poisonings, hearing loss, and all
other illnesses);
Establishment information (name, street address, industry
description, SIC or NAICS code, and employment information (annual
average number of employees, total hours worked by all employees last
year));
Signature (company executive's signature, title, telephone
number, and date).
Employers may submit their data on paper forms or electronically.
OSHA then calculates establishment-specific injury and illness rates
and uses them in its Site-Specific Targeting (SST) enforcement program
and High Rate Letter outreach program. The Agency also makes the
establishment-specific data available to the public through its Web
site at http://www.osha.gov/pls/odi/establishment_search.html and
through President Obama's Open Government Initiative at Data.gov
(http://www.data.gov/raw/1461).
The proposed rule replaces the ODI with the new language proposed
for Sec. 1904.41(a)(2). This section will require all establishments
that are required to keep injury and illness records under Part 1904,
had 20 or more employees in the previous year, and are in certain
designated industries to electronically submit the information from the
OSHA annual summary form (Form 300A) to OSHA or OSHA's designee on an
annual basis.
2. BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
The primary purpose of the SOII is to provide annual information on
the rates and numbers of work-related non-fatal injuries and illnesses
in the United States of America, and on how these statistics vary by
incident, industry, geography, occupation, and other characteristics.
The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act
of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347, Dec. 17, 2002) prohibits BLS from releasing
establishment-specific data to the general public or to OSHA.
Authority for the SOII comes from Sec. 1904.42 (Requests from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics for data). Each year, BLS collects data from
Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), Form 301
(Injury and Illness Incident Report), and Form 300 (Log of Work-Related
Injuries and Illnesses) from a scientifically-selected probability
sample of about 230,000 establishments, covering nearly all private-
sector industries, as well as state and local government. Employers may
submit their data on paper forms or electronically. As stated above,
the proposed rule will not affect the authority for the SOII.
c. OSHA Access to Establishment-Specific Injury and Illness Information
OSHA currently is able to acquire establishment-specific injury and
illness information directly from employers in three limited ways.
First, OSHA acquires establishment-specific injury and illness
information from employers through inspections. OSHA inspectors examine
all records kept under Part 1904, including detailed information about
specified injuries. However, each year, OSHA inspects only a small
percentage of all establishments under OSHA jurisdiction. For example,
in 2010, OSHA and its state partners inspected approximately 1% of
establishments under OSHA jurisdiction (approximately 98,000
inspections, out of 7.5 million total establishments). Although OSHA
does keep some of the Part 1904 records collected during inspections in
its enforcement files, the information contained in them is too limited
to be used in the ways OSHA expects to use the injury/illness
information it will collect under the current proposal.
Second, OSHA acquires establishment-specific injury and illness
information from employers through the ODI. However, because the ODI
collects only summary data, it does not enable OSHA to identify
specific hazards or problems in establishments in the ODI. In addition,
the data are not timely. The injury/illness information OSHA uses in
each year's Site-Specific Targeting Program comes from the previous
year's ODI, which collected injury/illness data from the year before
that. As a result, OSHA's targeting is typically based on injury/
illness data that are two or three years old. Finally, the group of
80,000 establishments in each year's ODI is not a statistically-
representative sample
[[Page 67258]]
either of establishments eligible to be included in the ODI or of
establishments overall.
Finally, OSHA acquires establishment-specific injury and illness
information from employers through Sec. 1904.39, which requires
employers to report all employee deaths from work-related incidents to
OSHA. Employers must also report all multiple-hospitalization events,
defined by Sec. 1904.39 as in-patient hospitalizations of three or
more employees as a result of a work-related incident.
These most-severe workplace injuries and illnesses are fortunately
rare. OSHA receives fewer than 2,000 establishment-specific reports of
fatalities each year and fewer than 20 establishment-specific reports
of multiple-hospitalization events. OSHA responds to each of these
reports with an investigation and, as appropriate, an inspection.
On June 22, 2011, OSHA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
that would amend the requirements of Sec. 1904.39 to require employers
to report all work-related in-patient hospitalizations and amputations
to OSHA, in addition to all employee deaths (76 FR 36414 (June 22,
2011)). OSHA estimated that the new reporting requirements would result
in a total of 210,000 additional establishment-specific reports of
these severe injuries to OSHA. Even this larger number of reports,
however, would represent less than one in ten of the roughly 3 million
annual recordable injury and illness cases. In addition, the data would
represent only the most severe injuries.
Given the above, OSHA currently does not acquire establishment-
specific injury and illness information from an establishment in a
particular year unless the establishment was inspected, was part of the
ODI, and/or reported a fatality or multiple-hospitalization event.
As noted above, OSHA also acquires aggregate information from the
injury and illness records collected through the BLS SOII. However,
SOII data also have a time lag of almost a year, with data for a given
year not available until November of the following year. More
importantly, the SOII data available to OSHA do not identify the
specific establishments where the injuries and illnesses occurred.
d. Benefits of Electronic Data Collection
The main purpose of this rulemaking is to improve workplace safety
and health through the collection and use of timely, establishment-
specific injury and illness data. With the information acquired through
this proposed rule, employers, employees, employee representatives, the
government, and researchers will be better able to identify and remove
workplace hazards.
The proposed rule will support OSHA's statutory directive to
``assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation
safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human
resources'' (29 U.S.C. 651(b)) ``by providing for appropriate reporting
procedures with respect to occupational safety and health which
procedures will help achieve the objectives of this Act and accurately
describe the nature of the occupational safety and health problem'' (29
U.S.C. 651(b)(12)).
It will greatly expand OSHA's access to the establishment-specific
information employers are already required to record under Part 1904.
As described in the previous section, OSHA currently does not have
timely, systematic access to this information. OSHA has access to
establishment-specific injury and illness information in a particular
year only if the establishment was inspected, was part of the ODI, and/
or reported a fatality or a multiple hospitalization event. In
addition, the injury and illness data collected through the ODI are
summary data only and not timely. The fatality/multiple hospitalization
event data do not include the establishment's injury and illness
records unless OSHA also conducts an inspection.
The rule's provisions requiring regular electronic submission of
injury and illness data will allow OSHA to acquire a much larger
database of timely, establishment-specific information about injuries
and illnesses in the workplace. This information will help OSHA use its
resources more effectively by enabling OSHA to identify the workplaces
where workers are at greatest risk.
For example, OSHA could refer employers who report high overall
injury/illness rates to OSHA's free on-site consultation program. OSHA
could also send hazard-specific educational materials to employers who
report high rates of injuries or illnesses related to those hazards.
OSHA could use the information to identify emerging hazards, support an
Agency response, and reach out to employers whose workplaces might
include those hazards.
The proposed new collection would provide establishment-specific
injury and illness data for analyses that are not currently possible
with the data sets from inspections, the ODI, and reporting of
fatalities and multiple-hospitalization events. For example, OSHA could
analyze the data collected under this proposed system to answer the
following questions:
1. What are the lowest injury/illness rates for establishments in a
particular high-hazard industry?
2. What are the long-term changes over time in injuries and
illnesses in a particular industry?
3. What is the effect of an OSHA intervention program targeted at a
particular industry or particular industry-related hazard on injuries/
illnesses in that industry?
4. What are the injury/illness outcomes of an OSHA intervention, as
determined by a case-control study?
5. What are the common hazards in low-rate establishments compared
to high-rate establishments in a particular industry?
6. How do injuries and illnesses in a particular industry vary by
season?
7. How do injuries and illnesses in a particular industry vary by
geographical location of the establishment?
In addition, OSHA plans to post the injury and illness data online,
as encouraged by President Obama's Open Government Initiative (for
example, see www.whitehouse.gov/open). The Agency believes that public
access to timely, establishment-specific injury and illness data will
improve workplace safety and health.
Specifically, the online posting of establishment-specific injury
and illness information will encourage employers to improve and/or
maintain workplace safety/health to support their reputations as good
places to work or do business with. Many corporations now voluntarily
report their workplace injury and illness rates in annual
``Sustainability Reports'', in order to show investors, stakeholders,
and the public that they are committed to positive social values,
including workplace safety. However, under OSHA's current recording and
reporting requirements, employers have access only to their own data,
aggregate injury/illness data in the SOII, summary data from
establishments in the ODI, and fatality/multiple-hospitalization event
reports. Using data collected under the proposed rule, employers could
compare injury rates and hazards at their establishments to those at
comparable establishments and set workplace safety/health goals
benchmarked to the establishments they consider most comparable.
Online availability of establishment-specific injury and illness
information will also encourage employees to contribute to improvements
in workplace safety/health. Under Sec. 1904.35, employees, former
employees, their personal
[[Page 67259]]
representatives, and their authorized employee representatives have the
right to access the OSHA injury and illness records at their workplace,
with some limitations. They also have access to the limited injury/
illness information, discussed above, that is currently available to
the public--the aggregate injury/illness data in the SOII, summary data
from establishments in the ODI, and fatality/multiple-hospitalization
event reports. In addition, Sec. 1904.32 requires employers to post a
copy of the establishment's annual summary in each establishment in a
conspicuous place where notices to employees are customarily posted.
This provision allows employees automatic access to the summary data
without requiring employees to request the data from their employer.
Using data collected under the proposed rule, employees would be
able to compare their own workplaces to the safest workplaces in their
industries. This could encourage employees in more hazardous workplaces
to work towards improvements by showing them that the improvements are
possible, while demonstrating the results of workplace safety/health
efforts to employees in the less-hazardous workplaces. Further, while
the current access provisions of the regulation provide employees the
right to access the information on the Part 1904 recordkeeping forms,
evidence shows that few employees exercise this right. During 2,836
inspections conducted between 1996 and 2011 to assess the injury and
illness recordkeeping practices of employers, 2,599 of the
recordkeepers interviewed (92%) indicated that employees never
requested access to the records required under Part 1904. OSHA believes
that employees will access and make use of the data more frequently
when the information is available without having to request the
information from their employers. Uninhibited access to the information
will allow employees to better identify hazards within their own
workplace and to take actions to have the hazards abated.
Potential employees currently have access only to the limited
injury/illness information currently available to the public--aggregate
injury/illness data in the SOII, summary data from establishments in
the ODI, and fatality/multiple-hospitalization event reports. Using
data collected under the proposed rule, potential employees could
examine the injury and illness records of establishments where they are
interested in working, to help them make a more informed decision about
a future place of employment. This would also encourage employers with
more hazardous workplaces in a given industry to improve workplace
safety and health, since potential employees, especially the ones whose
skills are most in demand, might be reluctant to work at more hazardous
establishments.
The general public also currently has access only to aggregate
injury/illness data in the SOII, summary data from establishments in
the ODI, and fatality/multiple hospitalization event reports. Using
data collected under the proposed rule, members of the public will be
able to make more informed decisions about current and potential places
to do business with. For example, potential customers might choose to
patronize only the businesses in a given industry with the lowest
injury/illness rates. Such decisions by customers would also encourage
establishments with higher injury/illness rates in a given industry to
improve workplace safety in order to become more attractive to
potential customers.
Finally, researchers also currently have access only to the limited
injury/illness data described above. Using data collected under the
proposed rule, researchers might identify previously unrecognized
patterns of injuries and illnesses across establishments where workers
are exposed to similar hazards. Such research would be especially
useful in identifying hazards that result in a small number of injuries
or illnesses in each establishment but a large number overall, due to a
wide distribution of those hazards in a particular area, industry, or
establishment type. Data made available under the proposed rule may
also allow researchers to identify patterns of injuries or illnesses
that are masked by the aggregation of injury/illness data in the SOII.
Workplace safety and health professionals might use data published
under the proposed rule to identify establishments whose injury/illness
records suggest that the establishments would benefit from their
services. In general, online access to this large database of injury
and illness information will support the development of innovative
ideas for improving workplace safety and will allow everybody with a
stake in workplace safety to participate in improving occupational
safety and health.
This regulation may also improve the accuracy of the reported data.
Section 1904.32 already requires company executives subject to Part
1904 requirements to certify that they have examined the annual summary
(Form 300A) and reasonably believe, based on their knowledge of the
process by which the information was recorded, that the annual summary
is correct and complete. OSHA recognizes that most employers are
diligent in complying with this requirement. However, a minority of
employers is less diligent; in recent years, one third or more of
violations of Sec. 1904.32, and up to one tenth of all recordkeeping
(Part 1904) violations, have involved this certification requirement.
If this minority of employers knows that their data must be submitted
to the Agency and may also be examined by members of the public, they
may pay more attention to the requirements of Part 1904, which could
lead both to improvements in the quality and accuracy of the
information and to better compliance with Sec. 1904.32.
Finally, the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and
Health (NACOSH) has indicated its support of the efforts of OSHA in
consultation with NIOSH to modernize the system for collection of
injury and illness data to assure that it is timely, complete, and
accurate, as well as both accessible and useful to employers,
employees, responsible government agencies, and members of the public.
e. Publication of Electronic Data
OSHA intends to make the data it collects public. The publication
of specific data elements will in part be restricted by provisions
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act, as
well as specific provisions within Part 1904. OSHA may make the
following data from the various forms (Docket exhibit OSHA-2013-0023-
0001) available in a searchable online database:
Form 300A (Summary Form)--All data fields could be made available.
These data are currently collected under the ODI and during inspections
and are released under FOIA requests. The annual summary form is also
posted at workplaces under Sec. 1904.32(a)(4).and Sec. 1904.32(b)(5).
OSHA currently posts establishment-specific injury and illness rates
calculated from the data collected through the ODI on OSHA's public Web
site at http://www.osha.gov/pls/odi/establishment_search.html. Form
300A does not contain any personally identifiable information.
Form 300 (the Log)--Except for Column B (the employee's name), all
fields could be made available. These data are generally released under
FOIA requests. Section 1904.29(b)(10) prohibits release of employees'
names and personal identifiers contained in the forms to individuals
other than the government, employees, former
[[Page 67260]]
employees, and authorized representatives. OSHA does not currently
conduct a systematic collection of the information on this form.
However, the Agency does review the form during inspections and
occasionally collects the form for enforcement case files.
Form 301 (Incident Report)--All fields on the right-hand side of
the form (items 10 through 18) could typically be made available. These
data are generally released in response to FOIA requests. Sections
1904.35(b)(v)(A) and (B) prohibit the release of information in items 1
through 9 to individuals other than the employee or former employee who
suffered the injury or illness and his or her personal representatives.
OSHA does not currently conduct a systematic collection of the
information on this form. However, the Agency does review the form
during some inspections and occasionally collects the form for
enforcement case files.
It should be noted that other agencies post establishment-specific
health and safety data with personal identifiers, including names. For
example, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) publishes
coded information pertaining to each accident, illness, or injury
reported to MSHA on MSHA Form 7000-1, including employee gender and
age, as well as narratives associated with specific accidents/injuries
for a particular year. An example of information published by MSHA can
be viewed at http://www.msha.gov/drs/drshome.htm. Further, MSHA
publishes a Preliminary Accident Report for fatalities, which includes
the employee's name, age, and a description of the accident. MSHA also
publishes an Accident Investigation Report that provides the names of
other employees involved in the fatal incident.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) posts headquarters-level
Accident Investigation Reports filed by railroad carriers under 49
U.S.C. 20901 or made by the Secretary of Transportation under 49 U.S.C.
20902; in the case of highway-rail grade crossing incidents, these
reports include personally-identifiable information (age and gender of
the person(s) in the struck vehicle).
Finally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posts National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports about aviation accidents.
These reports include personally-identifiable information about
employees, including job history and medical information. OSHA invites
public comment on which data reported under the proposed the rule it
would be useful to publish as part of OSHA's online database of
establishment-specific injury and illness information. OSHA also
invites public comment on whether there are additional steps the Agency
should take to protect employee privacy interests.
III. Stakeholder Meetings and Public Comments
To help OSHA gather information about electronic submission of
establishment-specific injury and illness data, OSHA held one
stakeholder meeting in Washington, DC, on May 25, 2010, and two in
Chicago, Illinois, on June 3, 2010. Topics included:
Scope of the data to be collected
Uses of the data to be collected
Methods of data collection
Economic impacts
In addition, as part of the stakeholder meeting notification, OSHA
requested public comment. Comments were submitted for Docket No. OSHA-
2010-0024. Summaries of the stakeholder meetings are available on
OSHA's Recordkeeping Page at http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/stakeholdermeeting.html and under Docket No. OSHA-2010-0024 at http://www.regulations.gov. Major points brought up by individual stakeholders
include:
As long as the data submission process is simple and
straightforward, an OSHA requirement for electronic submission of
information from injury and illness records will not be a burden for
most large employers, because large employers already keep their
records electronically.
The electronic submission system must be easy to use and
should be compatible with workers' compensation systems and data
submittal for the SOII.
IV. Summary and Explanation of the Proposed Rule
OSHA is proposing to amend its recordkeeping regulations to add
requirements for the electronic submission of injury and illness
information employers are already required to keep under Part 1904. The
proposed rule would amend 29 CFR 1904.41 to add three new electronic
reporting requirements (proposed Sec. 1904.41--Electronic submission
of injury and illness records to OSHA).
First, OSHA will require establishments that are required to keep
injury and illness records under Part 1904, and had 250 or more
employees in the previous calendar year, to electronically submit
information from these records to OSHA or OSHA's designee, on a
quarterly basis (proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)--Quarterly electronic
submission of Part 1904 records by establishments with 250 or more
employees).
Second, OSHA will require establishments that are required to keep
injury and illness records under Part 1904, had 20 or more employees in
the previous calendar year, and are in certain designated industries,
to electronically submit the information from the OSHA annual summary
form (Form 300A) to OSHA or OSHA's designee, on an annual basis
(proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)--Annual electronic submission of OSHA
annual summary form (Form 300A) by establishments with 20 or more
employees in designated industries). The second submission requirement
will replace OSHA's annual illness and injury survey, authorized by the
current version of 29 CFR 1904.41.
Third, OSHA will require all employers who receive notification
from OSHA to electronically submit specified information from their
Part 1904 injury and illness records to OSHA or OSHA's designee
(proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(3)--Electronic submission of Part 1904
records upon notification).
a. Description of Proposed Revisions
1. Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)--Quarterly Electronic Submission of Part 1904
Records by Establishments With 250 or More Employees
OSHA proposes to add a requirement that establishments with 250 or
more employees (including full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal
workers) at any time during the previous calendar year must
electronically submit to OSHA or OSHA's designee, on a quarterly basis,
all information from the records that they keep under Part 1904. This
information includes the individual entries on the OSHA Form 300 and
the information entered on each OSHA Form 301. The summary data from
OSHA Form 300A will be submitted annually. This requirement will not
apply to establishments with 250 or more employees that are partially
exempt from keeping injury and illness records under Sec. 1904.2
(Partial exemption for establishments in certain industries). OSHA has
preliminarily determined that it is appropriate to require quarterly
data submission from establishments with 250 or more employees. The
Agency believes that these establishments will find quarterly
submission to be a relatively small burden, when compared to the
benefits to worker safety and health that frequent submission can
provide.
OSHA will provide a secure Web site for the data collection.
Employers will register their establishments and be
[[Page 67261]]
assigned a login ID and password. The Web site will allow for both
direct data entry and submission of data through a batch file upload,
as appropriate. OSHA invites public comment on the design of the
electronic reporting system and the implementation of the electronic
reporting requirement.
The proposed rule does not add to or change any employer's
obligations to complete and retain the injury and illness records. Part
1904 already requires employers at establishments with 250 or more
employees to keep injury and illness records, unless they are exempt
under Sec. 1904.2 (Partial exemption for establishments in certain
industries). The proposed rule also does not add to or change the
recording criteria or definitions for these records. The only
difference between the proposed rule and the current rule is that
employers who keep injury and illness records under Part 1904, and had
250 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year, will
have to submit their records electronically, to OSHA or OSHA's
designee, on a quarterly basis.
2. Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)--Annual Electronic Submission of OSHA Annual
Summary Form (Form 300A) by Establishments With 20 or More Employees in
Designated Industries
OSHA proposes to add a requirement that establishments with 20 or
more employees, in designated industries, must electronically submit
the information from the OSHA summary form (Form 300A) to OSHA or
OSHA's designee, on an annual basis. This will replace the current
requirement in Sec. 1904.41(a) that employers that receive OSHA's
annual survey form must fill it out and send it in. The requirement for
the information from the OSHA annual summary form (Form 300A) will
replace the data requirements listed separately in current Sec.
1904.41(a)(1) (number of workers employed), Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) (number
of hours worked by employees), and Sec. 1904.41(a)(3) (requested
information from Part 1904 records).
OSHA has chosen to require annual submission of Form 300A data from
these establishments, as opposed to annual or quarterly submission of
Form 300 and Form 301 data, because it recognizes that more frequent
submissions of more data would impose an additional burden on these
establishments, some of which may not have on-site access to the
Internet. The Agency believes that annual submission of Form 300A data
will provide researchers with valuable data from these establishments
in a relatively timely manner.
OSHA will provide a secure Web site for the data collection.
Employers will register their establishments and be assigned a login ID
and password. The Web site will allow for both direct data entry and
submission of data through a batch file upload, as appropriate. OSHA
invites public comment on the design of the electronic reporting system
and the implementation of the electronic reporting requirement.
The designated industries represent all industries covered by Part
1904 with a 2009 Days Away From Work, Job Restriction, or Job Transfer
(DART) rate in the BLS SOII of 2.0 or greater, excluding four selected
transit industries where local government is a major employer. On
average, establishments in these industries experience 2 or more
serious injuries and illnesses per 100 full time employees. The
designated industries, which will be published as Appendix A to Part
1904 Subpart E, will be as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAICS Industry
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11..................................... Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
and Hunting.
22..................................... Utilities.
23..................................... Construction.
31-33.................................. Manufacturing.
42..................................... Wholesale Trade.
4413................................... Automotive Parts, Accessories,
and Tire Stores.
4421................................... Furniture Stores.
4422................................... Home Furnishings Stores.
4441................................... Building Material and Supplies
Dealers.
4442................................... Lawn and Garden Equipment and
Supplies Stores.
4451................................... Grocery Stores.
4521................................... Department Stores.
4529................................... Other General Merchandise
Stores.
4533................................... Used Merchandise Stores.
4543................................... Direct Selling Establishments.
4811................................... Scheduled Air Transportation.
4832................................... Inland Water Transportation.
4841................................... General Freight Trucking.
4842................................... Specialized Freight Trucking.
4855................................... Charter Bus Industry.
4871................................... Scenic and Sightseeing
Transportation, Land.
4872................................... Scenic and Sightseeing
Transportation, Water.
4881................................... Support Activities for Air
Transportation.
4882................................... Support Activities for Rail
Transportation.
4883................................... Support Activities for Water
Transportation.
4884................................... Support Activities for Road
Transportation.
4889................................... Other Support Activities for
Transportation.
4921................................... Couriers.
4922................................... Local Messengers and Local
Delivery.
4931................................... Warehousing and Storage.
5152................................... Cable and Other Subscription
Programming.
5311................................... Lessors of Real Estate.
5321................................... Automotive Equipment Rental and
Leasing.
5322................................... Consumer Goods Rental.
5323................................... General Rental Centers.
5617................................... Services to Buildings and
Dwellings.
[[Page 67262]]
5621................................... Waste Collection.
5622................................... Waste Treatment and Disposal.
5629................................... Remediation and Other Waste
Management Services.
6216................................... Home Health Care Services.
6221................................... General Medical and Surgical
Hospitals.
6222................................... Psychiatric and Substance Abuse
Hospitals.
6223................................... Specialty (except Psychiatric
and Substance Abuse)
Hospitals.
6231................................... Nursing Care Facilities.
6232................................... Residential Mental Retardation,
Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Facilities.
6233................................... Community Care Facilities for
the Elderly.
6239................................... Other Residential Care
Facilities.
6243................................... Vocational Rehabilitation
Services.
7112................................... Spectator Sports.
7131................................... Amusement Parks and Arcades.
7132................................... Gambling Industries.
7211................................... Traveler Accommodation.
8113................................... Commercial and Industrial
Machinery and Equipment
(except Automotive and
Electronic) Repair and
Maintenance.
8123................................... Drycleaning and Laundry
Services.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed rule does not add to or change any employer's
obligations to complete and retain the injury and illness records. Part
1904 already requires employers at establishments with 20 or more
employees to keep injury and illness records, including the OSHA
summary unless they are partially-exempt under Sec. 1904.2 (Partial
exemption for establishments in certain industries). None of the
designated industries is partially-exempt under Sec. 1904.2 (Partial
exemption for establishments in certain industries). The proposed rule
also does not add to or change the recording criteria or definitions
for these records. The only difference between the proposed rule and
the current rule is that establishments that keep injury and illness
records under Part 1904, had 20 or more employees in the previous year,
and are in the designated industries, will have to submit the
information from the OSHA annual summary form (Form 300A)
electronically, to OSHA or OSHA's designee, once a year.
As stated above, the industry list for this proposed section of the
rule is based on an analysis of CY 2009 BLS DART rates. More current
BLS injury and illness data will be available at the time of the final
rulemaking. When developing the final rule, OSHA intends to use the
must current BLS data available for determining the final industry
coverage. See section IV.b.3 of this preamble for a solicitation for
comment on this issue.
3. Sec. 1904.41(a)(3)--Electronic Submission of Part 1904 Records Upon
Notification
OSHA proposes to add a requirement that all employers who receive a
notification from OSHA must submit information from their Part 1904
injury and illness records electronically to OSHA or OSHA's designee,
for the time period and at the intervals specified by the notification.
Employers will not have to submit injury and illness data to OSHA under
this section unless they are notified.
OSHA will announce individual data collections through publication
in the Federal Register and the OSHA newsletter and through
announcements on its Web site. Establishments that are required to
submit the data will also be notified by mail.
Each notification will be part of an individual data collection
designed to obtain specified injury and illness data from a specified
group of employers at a specified time interval. Individual data
collections will provide OSHA with the timely, establishment-specific
information necessary for identifying emerging hazards, characterizing
specific areas of concern, or targeting inspections and outreach
activities under an OSHA emphasis program.
The individual data collection might be limited. For example, to
obtain information on occupational skin disorders in summer road
construction, OSHA might request all Form 301 data for recordable skin
disorder cases in establishments in the highway, street, and bridge
construction industry (NAICS 23731) in June, July, and August of a
particular year.
The data collection could also be more general. For example, OSHA
might request all of the data recorded under Part 1904 from
establishments in the primary metals industry (NAICS 331) in the past
year.
OSHA will provide a secure Web site for the data collection. The
data collection notification will provide the location of the Web site
and will ask notified employers to register their establishments for
the specified data collection. OSHA will assign employers with
registered establishments a login ID and password for that data
collection. The Web site will allow for both direct data entry and
submission of data through a batch file upload, as appropriate. OSHA
invites public comment on the design of the electronic reporting system
and the implementation of the electronic reporting requirement.
For each new data collection conducted under this proposed section,
the Agency will request OMB approval under separate Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA) control numbers. OSHA currently uses this process for the ODI
data collection conducted under the current Sec. 1904.41, which OMB
currently approves under the control number 1218-0209.
The proposed rule does not add to or change any employer's
obligation to complete and retain injury and illness records under Part
1904 (approved by OMB under Control Number 1218-0176 ``Recordkeeping
and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (29 CFR Part
1904)''). Employers that are required to keep injury and illness
records under Part 1904 will not have to keep any additional records as
a result of this proposed rule. Employers that are normally exempt from
keeping injury and illness records under Sec. 1904.1 (Partial
exemption for employers with 10 or fewer employees) and/or Sec. 1904.2
(Partial exemption for establishments in certain industries) are
already required by the current version of Sec. 1904.41 (Annual OSHA
injury and illness survey of ten or more employers) to keep records if
OSHA informs them
[[Page 67263]]
in writing to do so, and the proposed rule continues this requirement.
The proposed rule also does not add to or change the recording
criteria or definitions for these records. The only difference between
the proposed rule and the current rule is that notified employers will
have to submit the requested records electronically.
4. Sec. 1904.41, Paragraphs (b)(1)-(b)(6)
These parts of the proposed rule answer the following questions:
Does every employer have to send data to OSHA (Sec.
1904.41, Paragraph (b)(1))?
How will I be notified that I have to submit the data
(Sec. 1904.41, Paragraph (b)(2))?
How often do I have to submit the data (Sec. 1904.41,
Paragraph (b)(3))?
How do I submit the data (Sec. 1904.41, Paragraph
(b)(4))?
Do I have to submit data if I am normally exempt from
keeping OSHA injury and illness records (Sec. 1904.41, Paragraph
(b)(5))?
Do I have to submit data if I am located in a State-Plan
State (Sec. 1904.41, Paragraph (b)(6))?
5. Sec. 1952.4(d)
OSHA proposes to revise this section, currently related to State
participation in the Annual OSHA Injury/Illness Survey as authorized by
the current Sec. 1904.41, to state that Federal OSHA will collect the
data as described in Sec. 1904.41(a) through (c) and make the data
available to the States and to stipulate that States must adopt
identical requirements for enforcement purposes. This revision is
proposed to align with the proposed revisions of Sec. 1904.41(a),
Sec. 1904.41(b), and Sec. 1904.41(c), as explained above. This is
consistent with Sec. 18(c)(7) of the OSH Act, which requires employers
in the State to make reports to the Secretary in the same manner and to
the same extent as if the plan were not in effect. Section 18(c)(8) of
the OSH Act provides that the State agency will make such reports to
the Secretary in such form and containing such information, as the
Secretary shall from time to time require.
b. Issues, Alternatives, and Questions
1. Issues
Section 8(g) of the OSH Act, which authorizes OSHA to issue
recordkeeping and other regulations, also provides that ``(t)he
Secretary and Secretary of Health and Human Services are authorized to
compile, analyze, and publish, either in summary or detailed form, all
reports or information obtained under this section'' (29 U.S.C.
657(g)(1)). OSHA currently publishes, on OSHA.gov, establishment-level
injury and illness statistics gathered under the annual ODI survey. To
make these data useful to employers, employees, and the public in
dealing with safety and health issues, OSHA intends to continue to make
selected data from the new electronic reporting requirements available
on OSHA.gov.
Proposed new provisions would require certain employers to
electronically submit their illness and injury information to OSHA.
OSHA invites public comment on the implementation of the electronic
submission requirement, including whether it should take effect
immediately or be phased in over a certain period of time at the
beginning. Employer-maintained OSHA Form 300 logs are already subject
to public disclosure under 29 CFR 1904.35(a)(2), which requires these
logs to be disclosed to employees and their representatives, except
that details of certain ``privacy concern'' cases may be kept
confidential (see Sec. 1904.29(b)(6)-(9)). OSHA 301 forms, which
contain more detail about individual injuries, are available only to
the injured employees or their representatives.
OSHA currently intends to make public all of the collected data
that neither FOIA, the Privacy Act, nor specific Part 1904 provisions
prohibit from release. However, OSHA welcomes public input on the
question of which categories of information, from which OSHA-required
form, it would be useful to publish. Whichever body of data is
presented, however, OSHA will ensure that the names of employees with
recorded injuries or illnesses are removed from any published
information. OSHA invites public comment on whether there are
additional steps the Agency should take to protect employee privacy
interests.
The information required to be submitted under the proposed rule is
not of a kind that would include confidential commercial information.
The information is limited to the number and nature of injuries or
illnesses experienced by employees at particular establishments, and
the data necessary to calculate injury/illness rates, i.e., the number
of employees and the hours worked at an establishment. Details about a
company's products or production processes are not included on the OSHA
recordkeeping forms, nor do the forms request financial information.
The basic employee safety and health data required to be recorded do
not involve trade secrets, and public availability of such information
would not enable a competitor to obtain a competitive advantage. Many
employers already routinely disclose the number of employees at an
establishment. As the court noted in New York Times Co. v. U.S. Dept.
of Labor, most employers do not view injury/illness rates as
confidential (340 F.Supp.2d 394, 403 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)). Further, Sec.
1904.32(a)(4) already requires information about number of employees
and hours worked to be publicly disclosed to employees through the
posting of the OSHA Form 300A (annual summary form) in the workplace,
and the release of this information does not cause competitive harm
(New York Times Co., 340 F.Supp.2d at 401-403). The Secretary has
carefully considered this question following the decision in the New
York Times Co. case, and has concluded that the information contained
on the OSHA recordkeeping forms does not constitute confidential
commercial information. Members of the public are invited to express
their views on this issue during the comment period.
2. Alternatives
OSHA considered the following alternatives.
i. Alternative A--Monthly Submission Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) requires quarterly submission from
establishments with 250 or more employees. OSHA considered requiring
monthly submission instead. Monthly submission would provide more
timely data. On the other hand, this alternative would increase the
reporting burden on employers at these establishments by increasing the
number of times required to log in to the data collection system from
four to twelve. Note that this alternative would not change the amount
of data that employers would be required to report, but merely how
often they would be required to report the data. OSHA welcomes public
comment on this alternative.
ii. Alternative B--Annual Submission Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) requires quarterly submission from
establishments with 250 or more employees. OSHA considered requiring
annual submission instead. Annual submission would reduce the reporting
burden on employers at these establishments by decreasing the number of
times required to log into the data collection system from four to one.
Note that this alternative would not change the amount of data that
employers would be required to report,
[[Page 67264]]
but merely how often they would be required to report the data.
On the other hand, this alternative would reduce the timeliness of
the data. First, cases from the beginning of the year would not be
reported until the end of the year. Second, receiving, cleaning, and
analyzing the submission of a year's worth of data all at once, rather
than at regular intervals during the year, would affect OSHA's ability
to make the data available to the public in a timely fashion. OSHA
welcomes public comment on this alternative.
iii. Alternative C--One-Year Phase-in of Electronic Reporting Under
Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) requires electronic reporting for
establishments with 250 or more employees. OSHA considered a phase-in
of the electronic reporting requirement, under which these
establishments would have the option of submitting data on paper forms
for the first year this proposed rule was in effect. A one-year phase-
in would give time for these establishments to adjust to electronic
reporting.
On the other hand, according to information provided by
stakeholders at the stakeholder meetings held by OSHA in 2010, almost
all establishments of this size are already maintaining their Part 1904
records electronically. (For a summary of stakeholder information, see
the comments submitted for Docket No. OSHA-2010-0024. Also, summaries
of the stakeholder meetings are available on OSHA's Recordkeeping Page
at http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/stakeholdermeeting.html and under
Docket No. OSHA-2010-0024 at http://www.regulations.gov.)
As a result, if OSHA's electronic data submission system is
designed to be compatible with other electronic systems that track and
report establishment-specific injury and illness data, these
establishments are unlikely to need the adjustment period this
alternative would provide. In addition, paper submission would impede
OSHA's ability to make the data public in timely way, because the data
on the paper forms would have to be entered manually into the
electronic data system. OSHA welcomes public comment on this
alternative.
iv. Alternative D--Three-Year Phase-in of Electronic Reporting Under
Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) requires electronic reporting for
establishments with 20 or more employees in designated industries. OSHA
considered a phase-in of the electronic reporting requirement, under
which these establishments would have the option of submitting data on
paper forms for the first three years this proposed rule was in effect.
A three-year phase-in would give time for these establishments to
adjust to electronic reporting. On the other hand, paper submission
would impede OSHA's ability to make the data public in timely way,
because the data on the paper forms would have to be entered manually
into the electronic data system. OSHA welcomes public comment on this
alternative. It should be noted the current ODI allows for both paper
and electronic submission. Approximately 30% of respondents submit
their data by paper. This level of paper submission has been consistent
for the past three years.
v. Alternative E--Widen the Scope of Establishments Required To Report
Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) applies to establishments with 250
or more employees. OSHA considered widening the scope of establishments
required to report under this proposed section to establishments with
100 or more employees. This would more than triple the number of
establishments required to report under this proposed section,
increasing the number from 38,000 to 129,000. It would increase the
number of injury and illness cases with incident report (OSHA Form 301)
and Log (OSHA Form 300) data by nearly 50%, from 890,000 to 1,325,000.
This alternative would greatly increase the amount of timely,
establishment-specific injury/illness information available to the
public. On the other hand, it would also greatly increase the number of
establishments subject to the burden of quarterly reporting of records
kept under Part 1904. OSHA welcomes public comment on this alternative.
vi. Alternative F--Narrow the Scope of Establishments Required To
Report Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) applies to establishments with 250
or more employees. OSHA considered narrowing the scope of
establishments required to report under this proposed section to
establishments with 500 or more employees. This would decrease the
number of establishments required to report under this proposed section
by more than half, reducing the number from 38,000 to 13,800. It would
also decrease the number of injury and illnesses cases with incident
report (OSHA Form 301) and Log (OSHA Form 300) data by a third, from
890,000 to 590,000.
This alternative would greatly reduce the number of establishments
subject to the burden of quarterly reporting of records kept under Part
1904. On the other hand, it would also greatly reduce the amount of
timely, establishment-specific injury/illness information available to
the public. OSHA welcomes public comment on this alternative.
vii. Alternative G--Three-Step Process of Implementing the Reporting
Requirements Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and (2)
OSHA considered a three-step process of implementing the reporting
requirements under the proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and (2).
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) applies to establishments with 250
or more employees, except establishments that are partially exempt from
keeping injury and illness records under current Sec. 1904.2 (partial
exemption for establishments in certain industries).
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) applies to establishments with 20
or more employees in designated industries, i.e., high-hazard industry
groups (classified at the four-digit level in the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS)) and/or high-hazard industry
sectors (classified at the two-digit level in NAICS). (Note that, by
definition, none of these establishments would be partially exempt
under Sec. 1904.2.)
For this proposed alternative, high-hazard industry groups (four-
digit NAICS) have rates of injuries and illnesses involving days away
from work, restricted work activity, or job transfer (DART) that are
greater than 2.0. High-hazard industry sectors (two-digit NAICS)
include agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; utilities;
construction; manufacturing; and wholesale trade.
In the first step of this three-step implementation process,
reporting would be required only from the establishments in proposed
Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and (2) that are in high-hazard industry groups
(four-digit NAICS with a DART rate greater than or equal to 2.0).
Thus, initially, reporting would be required from two categories of
establishments:
1. Establishments with 250 or more employees, in a high-hazard
industry group (four-digit NAICS). An establishment with 250 or more
employees that is not in a high-hazard industry group (four-digit
NAICS) would not be required to report.
2. Establishments with 20 or more employees, in a high-hazard
industry group (four-digit NAICS). An
[[Page 67265]]
establishment that had 20 or more employees and is in a high-hazard
industry sector (two-digit NAICS), but not in a high-hazard industry
group (four-digit NAICS), would not be required to report.
In the second step of the three-step implementation process, OSHA
would conduct an analysis, after a specified period of time, to assess
the effectiveness, adequacy, and burden of the reporting requirements
in the first step. The results of this analysis would then guide OSHA's
next actions. For example, the results might support expanding the
requirements to include all of the establishments in proposed Sec.
1904.41(a)(1) and (2). Alternatively, the results might support
modifying or eliminating the requirements for certain groups of
employers or industries.
The third step of the three-step implementation process would
therefore depend on the results of OSHA's analysis. For the purposes of
this alternative, OSHA assumes that the third step would require
reporting from all of the establishments in proposed Sec.
1904.41(a)(1) and (2). That is, the third step would add reporting from
two categories of establishments:
1. Establishments with 250 or more employees that are not in high-
hazard industry groups (four-digit NAICS) and are not partially-exempt.
Establishments with 250 or more employees that are in high-hazard
industry groups (two-digit NAICS) would already be reporting under the
first step.
2. Establishments with 20 or more employees that are in high-hazard
industry sectors (two-digit NAICS) but are not in high-hazard industry
groups (four-digit NAICS). Establishments with 20 or more employees
that are in high-hazard industry groups (four-digit NAICS) would
already be reporting under the first step.
This three-step alternative would initially focus the regulation
more narrowly on establishments in the highest-hazard industries.
During the first step, the number of reporting establishments with 250
or more employees would be over two-fifths less (22,000 establishments,
compared to 38,000 in proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)), and the number of
reporting establishments with 20 or more employees in designated
industries would be one-quarter less (335,000 establishments, compared
to 440,000 in proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)).
On the other hand, this alternative would also initially reduce the
public's access to timely, establishment-specific injury/illness
information about the two categories of establishments that would not
be required to report until the third step of the process, depending on
the results of the analysis in the second step. There would be 16,000
establishments subject to proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) that would not
report until the third step, and there would be 105,000 establishments
subject to proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) that would not report until the
third step.
In addition, the three-step implementation process would place a
burden of uncertainty on these establishments, which would not be
required to report under the first step but might be required to report
under the third step, depending on the results of the analysis in the
second step.
OSHA welcomes public comment on this alternative.
viii. Alternative H--Narrow the Scope of the Reporting Requirements
Under Proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and (2)
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) applies to all establishments with
250 or more employees in all industries covered by the recordkeeping
rule.
The proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) applies to establishments with 20
or more employees in designated industries, i.e., high-hazard industry
groups (classified at the four-digit level in the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS)) and/or high-hazard industry
sectors (classified at the two-digit level in NAICS). High-hazard
industry groups (four-digit NAICS) are defined as industries with rates
of injuries and illnesses involving days away from work, restricted
work activity, or job transfer (DART) that are greater than or equal to
2.0. High-hazard industry sectors (two-digit NAICS) include
agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; utilities; construction;
manufacturing; and wholesale trade.
An alternative approach to defining the industry scope of these two
sections is to limit the industry coverage to include only industry
groups that meet a designated DART cut-off. This approach would not
include coverage of designated industry sectors as a criterion. Thus,
reporting would be required from two categories of establishments:
1. Establishments with 250 or more employees, in a high-hazard
industry group (four-digit NAICS) (quarterly reporting). An
establishment with 250 or more employees that is not in a high-hazard
industry group (four-digit NAICS) would not be required to report.
2. Establishments with 20 or more employees, in a high-hazard
industry group (four-digit NAICS) (annual reporting). An establishment
with 20 or more employees that is not in a high-hazard industry group
(four-digit NAICS), would not be required to report.
This alternative would focus the regulation more narrowly on
establishments in the highest-hazard industries. Using this approach,
OSHA applied cut-off DART rates of 2.0 and 3.0 to 2009 BLS and CBP data
and calculated the following coverage:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Injuries and
Establishments Establishments illnesses in
with 20 or more with 250 or more establishments
employees employees with 250 or more
employees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed regulatory text............................... 440,000 38,000 890,000
DART >=2.0............................................. 335,000 22,000 667,000
DART >=3.0............................................. 152,000 10,000 229,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using a DART rate cut-off of 2.0, the following 55 industry groups that
are subject to Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) under the
main proposal would not be covered under this alternative:
[[Page 67266]]
2009 DART <2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recordkeeping covered NAICS
(2007) Industry 2009 DART
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1131....................... Timber Tract Operations.... 1.7
1132....................... Forest Nurseries and 1.7
Gathering of Forest
Products.
1133....................... Logging.................... 1.9
1141....................... Fishing.................... 0.7
1142....................... Hunting and Trapping....... 0.5
2211....................... Electric Power Generation, 1.5
Transmission and
Distribution.
2362....................... Nonresidential Building 1.7
Construction.
2372....................... Land Subdivision........... 0.8
2379....................... Other Heavy and Civil 1.4
Engineering Construction.
3122....................... Tobacco Manufacturing...... 1.9
3131....................... Fiber, Yarn, and Thread 1.6
Mills.
3132....................... Fabric Mills............... 1.4
3141....................... Textile Furnishings Mills.. 1.9
3149....................... Other Textile Product Mills 1.9
3151....................... Apparel Knitting Mills..... 1.5
3152....................... Cut and Sew Apparel 1.3
Manufacturing.
3159....................... Apparel Accessories and 1.6
Other Apparel
Manufacturing.
3169....................... Other Leather and Allied 1.7
Product Manufacturing.
3221....................... Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard 1.4
Mills.
3231....................... Printing and Related 1.6
Support Activities.
3241....................... Petroleum and Coal Products 0.9
Manufacturing.
3251....................... Basic Chemical 1.1
Manufacturing.
3252....................... Resin, Synthetic Rubber, 1.4
and Artificial Synthetic
Fibers and Filaments
Manufacturing.
3253....................... Pesticide, Fertilizer, and 1.8
Other Agricultural
Chemical Manufacturing.
3254....................... Pharmaceutical and Medicine 1.1
Manufacturing.
3255....................... Paint, Coating, and 1.9
Adhesive Manufacturing.
3259....................... Other Chemical Product and 1.3
Preparation Manufacturing.
3274....................... Lime and Gypsum Product 1.6
Manufacturing.
3311....................... Iron and Steel Mills and 1.8
Ferroalloy Manufacturing.
3322....................... Cutlery and Handtool 1.8
Manufacturing.
3332....................... Industrial Machinery 1.6
Manufacturing.
3333....................... Commercial and Service 1.9
Industry Machinery
Manufacturing.
3335....................... Metalworking Machinery 1.7
Manufacturing.
3336....................... Engine, Turbine, and Power 1.5
Transmission Equipment
Manufacturing.
3341....................... Computer and Peripheral 0.4
Equipment Manufacturing.
3342....................... Communications Equipment 0.8
Manufacturing.
3343....................... Audio and Video Equipment 0.6
Manufacturing.
3344....................... Semiconductor and Other 0.9
Electronic Component
Manufacturing.
3345....................... Navigational, Measuring, 0.8
Electromedical, and
Control Instruments
Manufacturing.
3346....................... Manufacturing and 1.1
Reproducing Magnetic and
Optical Media.
3352....................... Household Appliance 1.7
Manufacturing.
3359....................... Other Electrical Equipment 1.6
and Component
Manufacturing.
3364....................... Aerospace Product and Parts 1.8
Manufacturing.
3391....................... Medical Equipment and 1.2
Supplies Manufacturing.
4232....................... Furniture and Home 1.6
Furnishing Merchant
Wholesalers.
4234....................... Professional and Commercial 1.1
Equipment and Supplies
Merchant Wholesalers.
4236....................... Electrical and Electronic 1.0
Goods Merchant Wholesalers.
4237....................... Hardware, and Plumbing and 1.5
Heating Equipment and
Supplies Merchant
Wholesalers.
4238....................... Machinery, Equipment, and 1.6
Supplies Merchant
Wholesalers.
4241....................... Paper and Paper Product 1.7
Merchant Wholesalers.
4242....................... Drugs and Druggists' 1.4
Sundries Merchant
Wholesalers.
4243....................... Apparel, Piece Goods, and 1.1
Notions Merchant
Wholesalers.
4246....................... Chemical and Allied 1.6
Products Merchant
Wholesalers.
4247....................... Petroleum and Petroleum 1.8
Products Merchant
Wholesalers.
4251....................... Wholesale Electronic 1.0
Markets and Agents and
Brokers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using a DART rate cut-off of 3.0, the following 133 industry groups
that are subject to Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) and Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) under
the main proposal would not be covered under this alternative:
2009 DART <3.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recordkeeping covered NAICS
(2007) Industry 2009 DART
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1113....................... Fruit and Tree Nut Farming. 2.6
1114....................... Greenhouse, Nursery, and 2.7
Floriculture Production.
1119....................... Other Crop Farming......... 2.2
[[Page 67267]]
1121....................... Cattle Ranching and Farming 2.7
1122....................... Hog and Pig Farming........ 2.8
1124....................... Sheep and Goat Farming..... 2.8
1125....................... Aquaculture................ 2.8
1131....................... Timber Tract Operations.... 1.7
1132....................... Forest Nurseries and 1.7
Gathering of Forest
Products.
1133....................... Logging.................... 1.9
1141....................... Fishing.................... 0.7
1142....................... Hunting and Trapping....... 0.5
1151....................... Support Activities for Crop 2.8
Production.
1152....................... Support Activities for 2.7
Animal Production.
1153....................... Support Activities for 2.0
Forestry.
2211....................... Electric Power Generation, 1.5
Transmission and
Distribution.
2212....................... Natural Gas Distribution... 2.5
2361....................... Residential Building 2.1
Construction.
2362....................... Nonresidential Building 1.7
Construction.
2371....................... Utility System Construction 2.4
2372....................... Land Subdivision........... 0.8
2373....................... Highway, Street, and Bridge 2.4
Construction.
2379....................... Other Heavy and Civil 1.4
Engineering Construction.
2382....................... Building Equipment 2.3
Contractors.
2383....................... Building Finishing 2.7
Contractors.
2389....................... Other Specialty Trade 2.4
Contractors.
3112....................... Grain and Oilseed Milling.. 2.6
3118....................... Bakeries and Tortilla 2.9
Manufacturing.
3119....................... Other Food Manufacturing... 2.8
3122....................... Tobacco Manufacturing...... 1.9
3131....................... Fiber, Yarn, and Thread 1.6
Mills.
3132....................... Fabric Mills............... 1.4
3133....................... Textile and Fabric 2.0
Finishing and Fabric
Coating Mills.
3141....................... Textile Furnishings Mills.. 1.9
3149....................... Other Textile Product Mills 1.9
3151....................... Apparel Knitting Mills..... 1.5
3152....................... Cut and Sew Apparel 1.3
Manufacturing.
3159....................... Apparel Accessories and 1.6
Other Apparel
Manufacturing.
3162....................... Footwear Manufacturing..... 2.9
3169....................... Other Leather and Allied 1.7
Product Manufacturing.
3212....................... Veneer, Plywood, and 2.4
Engineered Wood Product
Manufacturing.
3221....................... Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard 1.4
Mills.
3222....................... Converted Paper Product 2.0
Manufacturing.
3231....................... Printing and Related 1.6
Support Activities.
3241....................... Petroleum and Coal Products 0.9
Manufacturing.
3251....................... Basic Chemical 1.1
Manufacturing.
3252....................... Resin, Synthetic Rubber, 1.4
and Artificial Synthetic
Fibers and Filaments
Manufacturing.
3253....................... Pesticide, Fertilizer, and 1.8
Other Agricultural
Chemical Manufacturing.
3254....................... Pharmaceutical and Medicine 1.1
Manufacturing.
3255....................... Paint, Coating, and 1.9
Adhesive Manufacturing.
3256....................... Soap, Cleaning Compound, 2.1
and Toilet Preparation
Manufacturing.
3259....................... Other Chemical Product and 1.3
Preparation Manufacturing.
3261....................... Plastics Product 2.5
Manufacturing.
3272....................... Glass and Glass Product 2.8
Manufacturing.
3274....................... Lime and Gypsum Product 1.6
Manufacturing.
3279....................... Other Nonmetallic Mineral 2.8
Product Manufacturing.
3311....................... Iron and Steel Mills and 1.8
Ferroalloy Manufacturing.
3313....................... Alumina and Aluminum 2.7
Production and Processing.
3322....................... Cutlery and Handtool 1.8
Manufacturing.
3324....................... Boiler, Tank, and Shipping 2.8
Container Manufacturing.
3325....................... Hardware Manufacturing..... 2.5
3326....................... Spring and Wire Product 2.3
Manufacturing.
3327....................... Machine Shops; Turned 2.1
Product; and Screw, Nut,
and Bolt Manufacturing.
3328....................... Coating, Engraving, Heat 2.8
Treating, and Allied
Activities.
3329....................... Other Fabricated Metal 2.2
Product Manufacturing.
3331....................... Agriculture, Construction, 2.3
and Mining Machinery
Manufacturing.
3332....................... Industrial Machinery 1.6
Manufacturing.
3333....................... Commercial and Service 1.9
Industry Machinery
Manufacturing.
3334....................... Ventilation, Heating, Air- 2.5
Conditioning, and
Commercial Refrigeration
Equipment Manufacturing.
3335....................... Metalworking Machinery 1.7
Manufacturing.
3336....................... Engine, Turbine, and Power 1.5
Transmission Equipment
Manufacturing.
3339....................... Other General Purpose 2.1
Machinery Manufacturing.
3341....................... Computer and Peripheral 0.4
Equipment Manufacturing.
[[Page 67268]]
3342....................... Communications Equipment 0.8
Manufacturing.
3343....................... Audio and Video Equipment 0.6
Manufacturing.
3344....................... Semiconductor and Other 0.9
Electronic Component
Manufacturing.
3345....................... Navigational, Measuring, 0.8
Electromedical, and
Control Instruments
Manufacturing.
3346....................... Manufacturing and 1.1
Reproducing Magnetic and
Optical Media.
3351....................... Electric Lighting Equipment 2.0
Manufacturing.
3352....................... Household Appliance 1.7
Manufacturing.
3353....................... Electrical Equipment 2.0
Manufacturing.
3359....................... Other Electrical Equipment 1.6
and Component
Manufacturing.
3363....................... Motor Vehicle Parts 2.6
Manufacturing.
3364....................... Aerospace Product and Parts 1.8
Manufacturing.
3365....................... Railroad Rolling Stock 2.4
Manufacturing.
3369....................... Other Transportation 2.4
Equipment Manufacturing.
3371....................... Household and Institutional 2.8
Furniture and Kitchen
Cabinet Manufacturing.
3372....................... Office Furniture (including 2.4
Fixtures) Manufacturing.
3379....................... Other Furniture Related 2.5
Product Manufacturing.
3391....................... Medical Equipment and 1.2
Supplies Manufacturing.
3399....................... Other Miscellaneous 2.0
Manufacturing.
4231....................... Motor Vehicle and Motor 2.2
Vehicle Parts and Supplies
Merchant Wholesalers.
4232....................... Furniture and Home 1.6
Furnishing Merchant
Wholesalers.
4233....................... Lumber and Other 2.8
Construction Materials
Merchant Wholesalers.
4234....................... Professional and Commercial 1.1
Equipment and Supplies
Merchant Wholesalers.
4236....................... Electrical and Electronic 1.0
Goods Merchant Wholesalers.
4237....................... Hardware, and Plumbing and 1.5
Heating Equipment and
Supplies Merchant
Wholesalers.
4238....................... Machinery, Equipment, and 1.6
Supplies Merchant
Wholesalers.
4239....................... Miscellaneous Durable Goods 2.1
Merchant Wholesalers.
4241....................... Paper and Paper Product 1.7
Merchant Wholesalers.
4242....................... Drugs and Druggists' 1.4
Sundries Merchant
Wholesalers.
4243....................... Apparel, Piece Goods, and 1.1
Notions Merchant
Wholesalers.
4245....................... Farm Product Raw Material 2.2
Merchant Wholesalers.
4246....................... Chemical and Allied 1.6
Products Merchant
Wholesalers.
4247....................... Petroleum and Petroleum 1.8
Products Merchant
Wholesalers.
4249....................... Miscellaneous Nondurable 2.1
Goods Merchant Wholesalers.
4251....................... Wholesale Electronic 1.0
Markets and Agents and
Brokers.
4413....................... Automotive Parts, 2.5
Accessories, and Tire
Stores.
4421....................... Furniture Stores........... 2.5
4422....................... Home Furnishings Stores.... 2.1
4442....................... Lawn and Garden Equipment 2.3
and Supplies Stores.
4521....................... Department Stores.......... 2.6
4533....................... Used Merchandise Stores.... 2.7
4832....................... Inland Water Transportation 2.2
4871....................... Scenic and Sightseeing 2.4
Transportation, Land.
4872....................... Scenic and Sightseeing 2.2
Transportation, Water.
4881....................... Support Activities for Air 2.7
Transportation.
4882....................... Support Activities for Rail 2.9
Transportation.
4884....................... Support Activities for Road 2.8
Transportation.
4922....................... Local Messengers and Local 2.5
Delivery.
5152....................... Cable and Other 2.4
Subscription Programming.
5311....................... Lessors of Real Estate..... 2
5321....................... Automotive Equipment Rental 2.2
and Leasing.
5322....................... Consumer Goods Rental...... 2.7
5617....................... Services to Buildings and 2.4
Dwellings.
5629....................... Remediation and Other Waste 2.1
Management Services.
6216....................... Home Health Care Services.. 2.0
6221....................... General Medical and 2.8
Surgical Hospitals.
6223....................... Specialty (except 2.9
Psychiatric and Substance
Abuse) Hospitals.
7132....................... Gambling Industries........ 2.0
7211....................... Traveler Accommodation..... 2.6
8113....................... Commercial and Industrial 2.6
Machinery and Equipment
(except Automotive and
Electronic) Repair and
Maintenance.
8123....................... Drycleaning and Laundry 2.5
Services.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OSHA welcomes public comment on this alternative.
ix. Alternative I--Enterprise-Wide Submission
OSHA is considering a provision to require some enterprises with
multiple establishments to collect and submit some Part 1904 data for
those establishments. This provision would apply to enterprises with a
minimum threshold number of establishments (such as five or more) that
are required
[[Page 67269]]
to keep records under Part 1904. These enterprises would be required to
collect OSHA Form 300A (log summary) data from each of their
establishments that are required to keep injury/illness records under
Part 1904. The enterprise would then submit the data from each
establishment to OSHA. For example, if an enterprise had seven
establishments required to keep injury/illness records under Part 1904,
the enterprise would submit seven sets of data, one for each
establishment.
This requirement would apply to enterprises with multiple levels
within the organization. For example, if XYZ Chemical Inc. owns three
establishments, but is itself owned by XYZ Inc., which has several
wholly owned subsidiaries, then only XYZ Inc. would have to report, but
would have to report for all establishments it controls. It should be
noted that these requirements would only apply to establishments within
the jurisdiction of OSHA and subject to the recordkeeping rule.
Establishments within the corporate structure but located on foreign
soil would not be subject to the requirement.
An enterprise-wide approach to workplace safety and health is
useful for both OSHA and the enterprise. OSHA has several enterprise-
wide programs, including corporate-wide settlement agreements, VPP
corporate recognition, Partnerships, and the Severe Violator
Enforcement Program (SVEP). OSHA believes that enterprise-wide programs
can significantly improve workplace safety and health, especially in
cases of employers with multiple establishments that have similar real
or potential hazards. In addition, roughly 100 multi-establishment
enterprises currently ask to submit their ODI data through one
corporate contact. For these enterprises, OSHA mails the ODI surveys
for all of the establishments to the corporate contact, which collects
the data from the establishments and then submits the data to OSHA.
OSHA believes that the requirement for enterprise-wide submission
of injury and illness data would provide two benefits not available
under proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) (Annual electronic submission of
OSHA annual summary form (Form 300A) by establishments with 20 or more
employees in designated industries).
First, the provision would improve employer awareness and oversight
of workplace safety and health at the enterprise level. Many multi-
establishment enterprises already collect and analyze establishment-
level injury and illness data, but many do not. In some cases, multi-
establishment enterprises only learn of an establishment's failure to
provide safe and healthful working conditions as a result of a major
incident or an OSHA enforcement action. Under this portion of the
proposal, all multi-establishment enterprises subject to the
requirement would be obligated to collect establishment-level data.
This would enable the enterprises to monitor the safety and health
performance of their establishments more intelligently and to deploy
existing safety and health resources more effectively.
Second, this provision would enable OSHA to calculate enterprise-
wide injury and illness rates, as well as the establishment-specific
rates OSHA would be able to calculate under proposed Sec.
1904.41(a)(1) (Quarterly electronic submission of Part 1904 records by
establishments with 250 or more employees) and proposed Sec.
1904.41(a)(2) (Annual electronic submission of OSHA annual summary form
(Form 300A) by establishments with 20 or more employees in designated
industries). Using enterprise-level data, OSHA could identify and work
with enterprises that have high rates and/or large numbers of injuries
and illnesses, either enterprise-wide or at multiple specific
establishments. This would allow OSHA to leverage a limited number of
interventions into improved compliance and reductions in injuries and
illnesses. The interventions could include focused inspections,
targeted inspections, referrals to state on-site consultation programs,
enhanced compliance assistance, partnerships, and other activities.
In addition, enterprise-wide collection is a logical extension of
the current requirement in Sec. 1904.32(b)(3) for a company
executive's certification of the annual summary for the establishment.
According to Sec. 1904.32(b)(4), the certifying company executive must
be either the owner of the company, an officer of the corporation, the
highest-ranking company official working at the establishment, or the
immediate supervisor of the highest-ranking company official working at
the establishment. While, as discussed above, many multi-establishment
enterprises already examine their establishments' annual summaries,
others do not. Correct and complete data are necessary for OSHA,
employers, and employees to identify, understand, and control hazards
in the workplaces, as well as for safety and health professionals to
analyze trends, identify emerging hazards, and develop solutions.
Issues
(1) Definition of the Relationship Between the Enterprise and the
Establishment(s)
Under this provision, an enterprise with multiple establishments
would collect Part 1904 injury and illness data from those
establishments. However, although Part 1904 currently includes a
definition of an ``establishment'', there is no definition of an
``enterprise'' in Part 1904. Therefore, to implement this provision,
OSHA would have to define the term ``enterprise''.
Under Sec. 1904.46, an establishment is ``a single physical
location where business is conducted or where services or industrial
operations are performed. For activities where employees do not work at
a single physical location, such as construction; transportation;
communications, electric, gas and sanitary services; and similar
operations, the establishment is represented by main or branch offices,
terminals, stations, etc. that either supervise such activities or are
the base from which personnel carry out these activities.''
The Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) program at the U.S. Census
Bureau uses the same definition of an establishment as a single
physical location where business is conducted or where services or
industrial operations are performed. The SUSB is an annual series that
provides detailed annual data for U.S. business establishments by
geography, industry, and establishment size.
There is currently no definition of an enterprise in Part 1904.
However, the SUSB defines an enterprise as ``a business organization
consisting of one or more domestic establishments that were specified
under common ownership or control.'' \1\ For firms with only one
establishment, the enterprise and the establishment are the same. For
firms with more than one establishment, each multi-establishment
company forms one enterprise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Statistics of U.S. Businesses, Definitions, United States
Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/econ/susb/definitions.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using this definition of an enterprise would require OSHA also to
define what constitutes ``ownership or control''. This definition would
need to be clear and easy to use, and it would also need to minimize
the chance of multiple submissions of injury/illness data for the same
establishment.
One possible measure of ownership or control is the enterprise's
percentage of ownership of the establishment. In this case, the
definition could be ``For the
[[Page 67270]]
purposes of this section, if an enterprise has an ownership share
greater than 50% in an establishment, it is considered to have
ownership or control of that establishment.'' For example, if
Corporation A owns a majority of the stock of subsidiary Corporation B,
the establishments owned and operated by Corporation B would be
considered part of the Corporation A enterprise.
Instead of ``enterprise'', the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) uses the term ``multi-establishment employer'' and
defines it as an employer ``doing business at more than one
establishment''.\2\ For multi-establishment employers, the
``headquarters office'' must collect the forms from the establishments,
or the ``parent corporation'' must collect the forms from its
``subsidiary holdings''. The EEOC defines ``parent corporation'' as
``any corporation which owns all or the majority stock of another
corporation so that the latter stands in the relation to it of a
subsidiary.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ EEO-01: How to File, http.://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/howtofile.cfm, accessed 11/5/2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OSHA would consider using some of these definitions for the purpose
of this section. However, other measures and definitions are possible.
OSHA welcomes comments on this issue.
(2) Other Issues
OSHA has identified two other issues that may affect the
feasibility and burden associated with an enterprise-wide collection.
Occupation: For calculating burden, OSHA ordinarily assumes that
recordkeeping tasks at the establishment level are performed by human
resource specialists (BLS Standard Occupation Code 13-1071). However,
the proposed provision would require recordkeeping tasks at the
enterprise level. OSHA seeks information on the occupation or
occupations that would best describe the people who would perform these
tasks at the enterprise level.
Duplication: The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) requires agencies to
identify and minimize any duplication in the collection of information.
The enterprise-wide reporting provision, in combination with proposed
Sec. 1904.41(a)(2), could lead to the possibility that establishment-
specific data would be submitted to the Agency more than once. For
example, an establishment might submit its summary data to OSHA in
compliance with proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2), while the enterprise
submitted the same data to OSHA in compliance with this proposed
provision. One solution to this problem would be regulatory text
explaining that the establishment is not required to submit data under
Sec. 1904.41(a)(2) if the enterprise is required to submit the
establishment's data under the proposed provision. However, the Agency
recognizes that figuring out who should submit the establishment's data
would require coordination between a multi-establishment enterprise and
its establishments. OSHA seeks information on the burden associated
with this coordination.
Possible Additional Regulatory Text
1904.41(a)(4) Annual electronic submission of OSHA annual summary
form (Form 300A) by enterprises with five (5) or more establishments.
If your enterprise had ownership or control of five (5) or more
establishments covered by the recordkeeping rule during the entirety of
the previous calendar year, you must electronically send to OSHA or
OSHA's designee, once a year, the information from the completed annual
summary form (Form 300A) for each controlled establishment, including
the enterprise location. The information must be submitted no later
than March 2 of the year after the calendar year covered by the form.
1904.41(b)(7) What is the definition of ``ownership or control'' in
Sec. 1904.41(a)(4)? Ownership or control means that the enterprise has
an ownership share of greater than 50% in the establishment.
1904.41(b)(8) If Sec. 1904.41(a)(4) requires the enterprise to
submit an establishment's summary data, does the establishment also
have to submit the summary data under Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)(v) or Sec.
1904(a)(2)? No, the summary data (Form 300A) for the establishment
should only be submitted once, by the enterprise. However,
establishments subject to Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) must submit all of the
other information required by that provision.
1904.41(b)(9) If an establishment is partially exempted from the
recordkeeping requirements under Sec. 1904.2, does the enterprise have
to submit data for that establishment? No, the enterprise is only
required to submit data from establishments required to maintain the
injury and illness records.
Questions
OSHA seeks comment on the following questions:
How hard is it for a multi-establishment enterprise to
identify all of the establishments under its ownership or control?
Are there types of multi-establishment firms or multi-
level firms for which this would represent a greater burden than for
others?
Would the burden on multi-establishment enterprises to
collect and submit their OSHA data be more, less, or the same as the
burden to collect and submit data from their establishments to the
EEOC?
Which occupation or occupations would describe the
employee(s) likely to perform the task of identifying all of the
establishments under its ownership or control?
How probable is it that the employee(s) likely to perform
this task for OSHA's requirements would be performing the same task for
the EEOC's requirements?
Which occupation or occupations would describe the
employee(s) likely to perform the task of collecting, compiling, and
submitting the establishment-specific annual summary data from each
establishment under the enterprise's ownership or control?
How should OSHA define ``ownership or control''?
At least how many establishments should an enterprise have
in order to be subject to a requirement for enterprise-wide submission
of establishment-specific data?
Would the burden of enterprise-wide collection increase as
the number of establishments per enterprise increases, and if so, how?
Should the requirement include a minimum establishment
size? For example, the requirement could apply to enterprises with 5 or
more establishments, but only if each establishment has 10 or more
employees.
Should the requirement include a minimum enterprise-wide
employment size? For example, the requirement could apply only if total
employment for the whole enterprise, including all of the
establishments belonging to the enterprise, is 50 employees or more.
To what extent do enterprises already collect
establishment-specific injury/illness data from all of their
establishments?
To what extent do enterprises already collect other
establishment-specific data from all of their establishments for the
purpose of reporting the data to the government?
Do enterprises generally know their corporate linkage
identifiers (i.e., their Universal DUNS number)? How much additional
burden would it be for the enterprise to provide this information?
What special circumstances apply to organizations such as
holding companies and private equity firms? Do these types of
organizations play a role
[[Page 67271]]
in the occupational safety and health of the companies they control?
What other identifiers do enterprises currently use, or
could enterprises use, for submitting data to the government?
3. Questions
OSHA welcomes comments and data from the public regarding any
aspect of the proposed requirement for electronic submission of Part
1904 injury and illness records. More specifically, the following
questions are relevant to this rulemaking:
What are the implications of requiring all data to be
submitted electronically? This proposed rule would be among the first
in the federal government without a paper submission option.
More current BLS injury and illness data will be available
at the time of the final rulemaking. Use of newer data may result in
changes to the proposed industry coverage. Should OSHA use the most
current data available in determining coverage for its final rule?
Would this leave affected entities without proper notice and the
opportunity to provide substantive comment?
Should the electronic submission requirement be phased in,
with a paper submission option available for a certain period of time
at the beginning for some or all of the establishments subject to the
proposed rule, or should the electronic submission requirement take
effect immediately?
What are the implications of a phased-in electronic
submission requirement versus an immediate electronic submission
requirement for establishments subject to proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)
Quarterly electronic submission of Part 1904 records by establishments
with 250 or more employees?
What are the implications of a phased-in electronic
submission requirement versus an immediate electronic submission
requirement for establishments subject to proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)
Annual electronic submission of OSHA annual summary form (Form 300A) by
establishments with 20 or more employees in designated industries?
How should the electronic data submission system be
designed? How can OSHA create a system that is easy to use and
compatible with other electronic systems that track and report
establishment-specific injury and illness data?
Should the electronic data submission system be designed
to include updates? Sec. 1904.33(b) requires employers to update OSHA
Logs to include newly-discovered recordable injuries or illnesses and
to show any changes that have occurred in the classification of
previously-recorded injuries and illnesses.
How can OSHA use the electronic submission requirement to
improve the accuracy of injury and illness records by encouraging
careful reporting and recording of work-related injuries and illnesses?
How should OSHA design an effective quality assurance
program for the electronic submission of injury and illness records?
What additional steps, if any, should the Agency take to
protect employee privacy interests?
Are there views on the issue of OSHA recordkeeping forms
and confidential commercial information?
Which categories of information, from which OSHA-required
form, would it be useful to publish?
What analytical tools could be developed and provided to
employers to increase their ability to effectively use the injury and
illness data they submit electronically?
How can OSHA help employers, especially small-business
employers, to comply with the requirements of electronic data
submission of their injury and illness records? Would training help,
and if so, what kind?
Should this data collection be limited to the records
required under Part 1904? Are there other required OSHA records that
could be collected and made available to the public in order to improve
workplace safety and health?
For the proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) (Quarterly electronic
submission of Part 1904 records by establishments with 250 or more
employees), what would be the advantages and disadvantages of making
submission monthly, rather than quarterly?
For the proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) (Quarterly electronic
submission of Part 1904 records by establishments with 250 or more
employees), what would be the advantages and disadvantages of making
submission annual, rather than quarterly?
For the proposed Sec. 1904.41(a)(1) (Quarterly electronic
submission of Part 1904 records by establishments with 250 or more
employees), is 250 or more employees the appropriate size criterion?
How much burden would this impose on establishments with 250-500
employees? If the size criterion were lowered to 100 or more employees,
how much burden would this impose on establishments with 100-250
employees?
Should the designated industries for proposed Sec.
1904.41(a)(2) (Annual electronic submission of OSHA annual summary form
(Form 300A) by establishments with 20 or more employees in designated
industries) remain the same each year, or should the list be adjusted
each year to reflect the most current BLS injury and illness data? If
so, how could OSHA best inform affected establishments about the
adjustments?
How can OSHA help employees and potential employees use
the data collected under this proposed rule?
V. Preliminary Economic Analysis and Regulatory Flexibility
Certification
a. Introduction
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 require that OSHA estimate the
benefits, costs, and net benefits of proposed regulations. Executive
Orders 12866 and 13563, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act also require OSHA to estimate the costs,
assess the benefits, and analyze the impacts of certain rules that the
Agency promulgates. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to
assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and,
if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that
maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental,
public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity).
Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both
costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting
flexibility.
OSHA estimates that this rule will have economic costs of $11.9
million per year, including $10.5 million per year to the private
sector, with costs of $183 per year for affected establishments with
250 or more employees and $9 per year for affected establishments with
20 or more employees in designated industries. The Agency believes that
the annual benefits, while unquantified, significantly exceed the
annual costs.
The proposed rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under
Executive Order 12866 or the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) (2
U.S.C. 1532(a)), and it is not a ``major rule'' under the Congressional
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). The Agency estimates that the
rulemaking imposes far less than $100 million in annual economic costs.
In addition, it does not meet any of the other criteria specified by
UMRA or the Congressional Review Act for a significant regulatory
action or major rule. This Preliminary Economic
[[Page 67272]]
Analysis (PEA) addresses the costs, benefits, and economic impacts of
the proposed rule.
The proposed rule will make three changes to the existing recording
and reporting requirements in Part 1904.
First, OSHA will require establishments that are required to keep
injury and illness records under Part 1904, and that had 250 or more
employees in the previous year, to electronically submit information
from all of these required records to OSHA or OSHA's designee, on a
quarterly basis.
Second, OSHA will require establishments that are required to keep
injury and illness records under Part 1904, had 20 or more employees in
the previous year, and are in certain designated industries, to
electronically submit the information from the OSHA annual summary form
(Form 300A) to OSHA or OSHA's designee, on an annual basis. This
requirement will replace OSHA's annual illness and injury survey,
authorized by the current version of 29 CFR 1904.41.
Third, OSHA will require all employers who receive notification
from OSHA to electronically submit information from their injury and
illness records to OSHA or OSHA's designee.
The proposed rule does not add to or change any employer's
obligation to complete, retain, and certify injury and illness records.
The proposed rule also does not add to or change the recording criteria
or definitions for these records. The only change is that, under
certain circumstances, employers will be obligated to transmit
information from these records to OSHA in an electronic format (either
a file or by a secure Web page). Many employers are already doing this
through the OSHA Data Initiative and the BLS Survey of Occupational
Injuries and Illnesses.
The electronic submission of information to OSHA would be a
relatively simple and quick matter. In most cases, submitting
information to OSHA would require several basic steps: (1) Logging on
to OSHA's web-based submission system; (2) entering basic establishment
information into the system; (3) copying the required injury and
illness information from the establishment's paper forms into the
electronic submission forms; and (4) hitting a button to submit the
information to OSHA. In many cases, especially for large
establishments, OSHA data are already kept electronically, so step 3,
which is likely the most time-intensive, would not be necessary. In
those cases, the establishment would be able to submit its electronic
information, in the format in which it is kept, to OSHA without having
to transfer it into OSHA's online format. The submission system, as
anticipated, would also save an establishment's information from one
submission to the next, so step 2 might be eliminated for most
establishments after the first submission.
b. Costs
1. Sec. 1904.41(a)(1)--Quarterly Electronic Submission of Part 1904
Records by Establishments With 250 or More Employees
To obtain the estimated cost of electronic data submission per
establishment, OSHA began by multiplying the compensation per hour (in
dollars) of the person expected to perform the task of electronic
submission by the time required for the electronic data submission.
OSHA then multiplied this cost per establishment by the estimated
number of establishments that would be required to submit data, to
obtain the total estimated costs of this part of the proposed rule.
To estimate the compensation of the person expected to perform the
task of electronic data submission, OSHA assumed that recordkeeping
tasks are most commonly performed by a Human Resource, Training, and
Labor Relations Specialist, Not Elsewhere Classified (Human Resources
Specialist). OSHA made the same assumption in the PEA for the proposed
rule on restoring a column to the OSHA 300 Log that employers would use
to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) (75 FR 10738-
10739 (March 9, 2010)). OSHA estimated compensation using May 2008 data
from the BLS Occupational Employment Survey (OES), reporting a mean
hourly wage of $28 for Human Resources Specialists, and June 2009 data
from the BLS National Compensation Survey, reporting a mean fringe
benefit factor of 1.43 for civilian workers in general. OSHA multiplied
the mean hourly wage ($28) by the mean fringe benefit factor (1.43) to
obtain an estimated total compensation (wages and benefits) for Human
Resources Specialists of $40.04 per hour ([$28 per hour] x 1.43).
OSHA recognizes that not all firms assign the responsibility for
recordkeeping to a Human Resources Specialist. For example, a smaller
firm may use a bookkeeper, while a larger firm may use an occupational
safety and health specialist. However, OSHA believes that the
calculated cost of $40.04 per hour is a reasonable estimate of the
hourly compensation of a representative recordkeeper. OSHA welcomes
comments on the issue of hourly compensation costs for representative
recordkeepers.
For time required for the data submission, OSHA used the estimated
unit time requirements reported by BLS in their paperwork burden
analysis for the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII)
(OMB Control Number 1220-0045, expires October 31, 2013).\3\ BLS
estimated 10 minutes per recordable injury/illness case for electronic
submission of the information on Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident
Report). BLS also estimated 10 minutes per establishment, total, for
electronic submission of the information on both Form 300 (Log of Work-
Related Injuries and Illnesses) and 300A (Summary of Work-Related
Injuries and Illnesses). OSHA believes that this may overestimate the
time required for electronic submission of Form 300 and 300A
information to OSHA, because each establishment's annual submissions
will consist of four submissions of Form 300 information but only one
submission of Form 300A information. However, OSHA assumes that most of
the time required for submission of Form 300A information will be spent
on the submission process (i.e., logging on and off the data submission
site, assuring the accuracy of log-on information, and so on), rather
than on entry of the limited amount of information on the form.
Therefore, OSHA considers it appropriate to use the BLS estimate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The ODI paperwork analysis (1218-0209) takes an average time
of 10 minutes per response for submitting Form 300A data. The ODI
does not require submission of Form 301 data. The 10 minute estimate
form the ODI is equal to the 10 minute estimate from the BLS SOII
for submission of the same data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using the information on estimated hourly compensation of
recordkeepers and estimated time required for data submission, OSHA
calculated that the estimated cost per establishment with 250 or more
workers for quarterly data submission of the information on Forms 300
and 300A would be $26.69 per year ([10 minutes per data submission] x
[1 hour per 60 minutes] x [$40.04 per hour] x [4 data submissions per
year]). In addition, the estimated cost per recordable injury/illness
case would be $6.67 ([10 minutes per case] x [1 hour per 60 minutes] x
[$40.04 per hour]).
To calculate the total estimated costs of this part of the proposed
rule, OSHA used establishment and employment counts from the U.S.
Census County Business Patterns (CBP), and injury and illness counts
from the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
[[Page 67273]]
(SOII).\4\ CBP data show that there are 38,094 establishments with 250
or more employees in the industries covered by this section. These
establishments would be required to electronically report detailed
injury and illness information on a quarterly basis under the proposed
rule. The CBP data also indicate that these large establishments employ
35.8% of all employees in the covered industries. The BLS data show a
total of 2,486,500 injuries and illnesses that occurred in the covered
industries. To calculate the number of injuries and illnesses that will
be reported by covered establishments with 250 or more employees, OSHA
assumed that total recordable cases in establishments with 250 or more
employees would be proportional to their percentage of employment
within the industry. Thus, OSHA estimates that 890,288 injury and
illness cases will be reported per year by establishments with 250 or
more employees that are covered by this section.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ For the CBP see: http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/. For the
SOII see: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshsum.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OSHA then calculated an estimated total cost of quarterly data
submission of non-case information of $1,016,729 ([38,094
establishments required to submit data quarterly] x [$26.69 for
electronic data submission per year]). In addition, OSHA calculated an
estimated total cost of quarterly data submission of case information
of $5,938,221 ([890,288 injury/illness cases per year at affected
establishments] x [$6.67 per injury/illness case]). Summing these two
costs yields a total cost of $6,954,950 per year ($1,016,729 +
$5,938,221), for an average cost per affected establishment of $183 per
year.
OSHA is interested in comments on all aspects of this preliminary
estimate. In addition, these cost estimates assume that all
establishments with 250 or more employees will be able to report
electronically with existing facilities and equipment. OSHA welcomes
any examples of such establishments that cannot report electronically
with existing facilities and equipment or data sources showing that
such establishments exist.
These cost estimates also include establishments currently included
in the OSHA Data Initiative. OSHA did not calculate a comparison
between the current costs of annual submission of some Part 1904
recordkeeping information under the ODI and the costs of quarterly
electronic data submission of all Part 1904 recordkeeping information
under the proposed rule. However, for establishments that are already
included in the current ODI, the additional costs of quarterly
electronic data reporting under this part of the proposed rule will be
less than the calculated $183 per year.
2. Sec. 1904.41(a)(2)--Annual Electronic Submission of OSHA Annual
Summary Form (Form 300A) by Establishments With 20 or More Employees in
Designated Industries
As in the previous section on quarterly electronic submission of
Part 1904 records from establishments with 250 or more employees, OSHA
first obtained the estimated cost of electronic data submission per
establishment by multiplying the compensation per hour (in dollars) for
the person expected to perform the task of electronic data submission
by the time required for the electronic data submission. OSHA then
multiplied this cost by the estimated number of establishments that
would be required to submit data, to obtain the total estimated costs
of this part of the proposed rule.
As in the previous section, for compensation per hour, OSHA used
the calculated cost of $40.04 per hour as a reasonable estimate of the
hourly compensation of a representative recordkeeper.
OSHA used the BLS estimate of 10 minutes per establishment for
electronic submission of the information on Forms 300 (Log of Work-
Related Injuries or Illnesses) and 300A (Summary of Work-Related
Injuries and Illnesses) to estimate the time required for this
submission. This may be an overestimate, because the requirement in
this part of the proposed rule is for electronic submission of
information from Form 300A only. However, OSHA assumes that most of the
time required for submission of Form 300A information will be spent on
the submission process (i.e., logging on and off the data submission
site, assuring the accuracy of log-on information, and so on), rather
than on entry of the limited amount of information on the form.
Therefore, OSHA considers it appropriate to use the BLS estimate.
The estimated cost per establishment for electronic submittal under
this part of the proposed rule is thus $6.67 per year ([$40.04 per
hour] x [10 minutes per data submission] x [1 hour per 60 minutes] x
[one data submission per year]).
To estimate the number of establishments affected, OSHA assumed
that this part of the proposed rule would require annual electronic
data submission from establishments with 20 or more employees in the
non-exempt industries listed in the proposed rule. Under these
criteria, 440,863 establishments would be subject to this part of the
proposed rule.
However, many of these establishments are already submitting these
data to OSHA through the current OSHA Data Initiative (ODI). 47,700
establishments of the 68,600 establishments in the 2010 ODI (70%)
submitted their data electronically. Because these establishments are
already submitting the data required by this part of the proposed rule,
in the manner required by this part of the proposed rule, it is
reasonable to assume that this part of the proposed rule will not
result in any new costs for these 47,700 establishments. OSHA has no
reason to think that establishments in the ODI are any different in
terms of recordkeeping compliance rates from the expanded number of
establishments affected by this proposed rule. The reason for this is
that the underlying population for both the ODI sample and this
expanded reporting sample are part of the same universe: Establishments
already required to keep records.
As a result, if all of the affected establishments have on-site
access to a computer and an adequate Internet connection, OSHA
estimates that the direct labor cost of this part of the proposed rule
would be $2,622,397 ([$6.67 per establishment per year] -([440,863
establishments affected under the proposed rule] -[47,700
establishments already submitting electronically to the ODI])).
However, as noted above, 30% of establishments in the 2010 ODI did
not submit data electronically. One possible reason for this choice is
that, for some of the establishments affected by this part of the
proposed rule, it is difficult to submit data electronically. Most
agencies currently allow non-electronic filing of information, and some
businesses continue to use this option, despite strong encouragement by
agencies to file electronically.
OSHA searched for but was unable to find information on the
proportion of all businesses without access to a computer and the
Internet. However, OSHA did find a survey, conducted by a contractor
for the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA)
in the spring of 2010, on the use of Internet connectivity by small
businesses, called ``The Impact of Broadband Speed and Price on Small
Business'' (http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/rs373tot_0.pdf).
This survey suggests that at least 90 percent of small businesses
surveyed use the Internet at their business. Further, the survey noted
that 75 percent of all small businesses not using the Internet were
small
[[Page 67274]]
businesses with five or fewer employees. Given the survey's estimates
that 50 percent of small businesses have fewer than 5 employees, this
means that 95 percent of all small businesses with five or more
employees have Internet connections. OSHA believes that even this 95
percent is an underestimate for two reasons. First, the survey is three
years old, and during the past three years the cost of both computer
equipment and Internet access has fallen (for example, since May 2008
the BLS Personal Computer Index has fallen by 12 percent; http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SEEE01?output_view=pct_3mths).
Second, the survey is of small entities, not establishments. OSHA can
show that a significant proportion of small establishments are a part
of non-small entities, and those larger entities are even more likely
to have computers and Internet connections.
It also needs to be noted that the minimum establishment size
affected by this proposed rule is 20 employees. It is reasonable to
assume that even a smaller percentage of firms with 20 or more
employees lack a computer with an Internet connection.
OSHA was able to find only two current Federal Government data
collection programs that require data to be submitted electronically.
Effective January 1, 2010, the Department of Labor's
Employee Benefits Security Administration requires the electronic
filing of all Form 5500 Annual Returns/Reports of Employee Benefit Plan
and all Form 5500-SF Short Form Annual Returns/Reports of Small
Employee Benefit Plan for 2009 and 2010 plan years, as well as any
required schedules and attachments, using EFAST2-approved third-party
software or iFile. EFAST2 is an all-electronic system designed by the
Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation to simplify and expedite the submission, receipt,
and processing of the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF. These forms must be
electronically filed each year by employee benefit plans to satisfy
annual reporting requirements under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. Under EFAST2,
filers choose between using EFAST2-approved vendor software or a free
limited-function web application (IFILE) to prepare and submit the Form
5500 or Form 5500-SF. Completed forms are submitted via the Internet to
EFAST2 for processing.
Under the mandatory electronic filing provisions (11 CFR
104.18) of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), effective January 1,
2001, any political committee or other person that is required to file
reports with the FEC and that receives contributions or makes
expenditures in excess of $50,000 in the current calendar year, or has
reason to expect to do so, must submit its reports electronically.
All other current data collection programs identified by OSHA
provide a non-electronic option for data submission, including the OSHA
Data Initiative (ODI); various databases at the Environmental
Protection Agency, including the Toxics Release Inventory Program
(TRI); and programs administered by the Internal Revenue Service, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau (including
business data).
As noted above, even a dated survey from 2010 found that 95 percent
of small businesses with 5 or more employees had a computer with an
Internet connection. The Department of Commerce estimated in 2009 that
69% and 64% of U.S. households, respectively, had any kind of Internet
access and broad-band Internet access specifically (National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, ``Table 2 Households using the Internet in and outside the
home, by selected characteristics: Total, Urban, Rural, Principal City,
2009 (Numbers in Thousands)'', http://www.ntia.doc.gov/legacy/data/CPS2009_Tables.html). In addition, households with higher incomes and
levels of education were more likely to have Internet access at home,
and home Internet access among employed householders was 78%, compared
to 65% among unemployed householders and 52% among householders not in
the labor force.
It seems reasonable to assume that business owners, as a group,
have higher incomes and labor force participation rates than the U.S.
population as a whole. And data from the 2007 Survey on Small Business
Owners, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, show that business owners
have higher levels of education; 74% of the business owners had at
least some post-high school education and 45% had at least a bachelor's
degree, compared to 55% and 30% among the general U.S. population aged
25 and older in 2010 (U.S. Census, ``Table 1. Educational Attainment of
the Population 18 Years and Over, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic
Origin: 2010'', http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2010/Table1-01.xls, accessed June 15, 2011). Further, a small business
owner without an office or home computer may own a smart phone, which
could easily be used for transmitting the data in this very simple
form.
To account for the lack of direct data on computers and Internet
access among small businesses and the presumed increase in Internet
usage since the indirect data were obtained, OSHA will estimate that
95% of the 440,863 establishments subject to this part of the proposed
rule (i.e., 418,820 establishments) have access to a computer with an
Internet connection, either at home or at work. OSHA believes that the
actual percentage of establishments with Internet access at the office,
home, or by smart phone is larger than this estimated value. OSHA
welcomes comment on this issue. The remaining 22,043 establishments
would have to either buy additional equipment and/or services or use
off-site facilities, such as public libraries. OSHA preliminarily
estimates that finding and using such off-site facilities would add an
hour (including transportation and waiting time) to the time required
by the recordkeeper to submit the data electronically. This would lead
to additional costs of $882,607 per year ([440,863 establishments] x
[5% of these establishments] x [1 hour for finding and using off-site
facilities] x [$40.04 per hour]). OSHA is interested in comments on all
aspects of this preliminary estimate.
The total costs of this part of the proposed rule are the direct
labor cost of electronic submittal ($2,622,397) for the 393,163
establishments subject to the rule and not already electronically
submitting the data to OSHA through the ODI, plus the additional cost
for 5% of the affected 440,863 establishments of going off-site to
submit the data electronically ($882,607). A last cost of $189,935, for
those establishments that do not currently certify their records, is
discussed below. Thus, the total cost is $3,695,939 per year, or an
approximate estimated average of $9.40 per affected establishment
([$3,695,939 per year]/([440,863 establishments affected under the
proposed rule] - [47,700 establishments already submitting
electronically to the ODI])).
Note that these cost estimates include establishments that would
already be submitting these data under the proposed requirement for
quarterly electronic submission of Part 1904 records by establishments
with 250 or more employees. Of the 38,094 establishments that would be
affected by the proposed requirement for quarterly submission of
records by establishments with 250 or more employees, 17,491 would also
be affected by the proposed requirement
[[Page 67275]]
for annual electronic submission of OSHA annual summary form (Form
300A) by establishments with 20 or more employees in designated
industries. However, the cost estimate has already removed many of
these 17,491 establishments as part of the 47,700 establishments
subject to this part of the proposed rule and currently submitting
annual information electronically to OSHA through the ODI. The number
of establishments that would be affected by both the quarterly
submission requirement and the annual submission requirement, and that
are not currently submitting information electronically to OSHA through
the ODI, is probably too small to make a significant difference in the
calculated costs of $3.7 million per year.
A small percentage of establishments currently subject to Part 1904
do not fully comply with the requirement in Sec. 1904.32(a)(3) to
certify the accuracy of each year's records. OSHA determined, based on
inspection data, that in 2010 about 1.6 percent of establishments
undergoing inspection had violations of the recordkeeping certification
requirement. OSHA has estimated costs and a paperwork burden for the
time these employers would spend reviewing their data for certification
purposes. Because this data collection would make it obvious to these
employers that a record has not been certified, OSHA included the full
costs of certification for those not in compliance with Sec.
1904.32(a)(3) as a cost of this rule. The number of those that do not
comply may be estimated by multiplying 1.6 percent times 360,863
establishments subject to the rule but not currently in the ODI
(440,863 total establishments minus 80,000 in ODI). The resulting
figure is only 5,774 establishments not currently in compliance. The
cost for these non-compliers to comply with Sec. 1904.32(a)(3) by
completing certification is $189,935. This is calculated by multiplying
30 minutes by 5,774 establishments (resulting in 2,887 hours) times the
adjusted hourly wage for a certifying official ($65.79). This wage
reflects the hourly wage plus benefits of an Industrial Production
Manager (OES 11-3051), the same occupation used for certification of
records in other OSHA recordkeeping regulations. OSHA invites comments
on whether 1.6 percent is the actual certification non-compliance rate
for firms subject to Part 1904, and on whether the adjusted wage of
$65.79 is, on average, the correct wage rate for individuals certifying
annual recordkeeping logs.
OSHA believes, and current ICRs support, that 30 minutes is the
appropriate amount of time required, on average, for certification.
However, it is possible to exhibit a range of time requirements. If,
for example, the certifying officials are especially productive at
certification, perhaps because the injury and illness records are well-
maintained or because they are able to work off existing finalized
summary reports sent to Workers' Compensation insurance agencies, then
it may only take 15 minutes, on average, to complete the certification.
In that case, the total cost would be just $94,967. On the other hand,
perhaps the certifying officials have become less productive since the
previous ICRs. If it now takes a certifying official one hour instead
of 30 minutes to certify, then the total cost for non-complying
establishments would be $379,870.
3. Sec. 1904.41(a)(3)--Electronic Submission of Part 1904 Records Upon
Notification
This part of the proposed rule has no immediate costs or economic
impacts. Under this part of the proposed rule, an establishment will be
required to submit data electronically if OSHA notifies the
establishment to do so as part of a specified data collection. Each
specified data collection would be associated with its own particular
costs, benefits, and economic impacts, which OSHA would estimate as
part of obtaining OMB approval for the specified data collection under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
4. Budget Costs to the Government for the Creation of the Reporting
System, Helpdesk Assistance, and Administration of the Electronic
Submission Program
While OSHA has not typically included the cost of administering a
new regulation in the preliminary economic analysis, in this document
the Agency has included such costs because they represent a significant
fraction of the total costs of the regulation. These costs will be
offset by budget savings from the discontinuation of the current ODI
survey. The program lifecycle costs can be categorized into IT hardware
and software costs, helpdesk costs, and OSHA program management
personnel costs. OSHA received estimates for the lifecycle costs from
three sources: an OSHA contractor, the BLS, and OSHA offices.
According to OSHA's Office of Web Services, the creation of the
reporting system hardware and software infrastructure will have an
initial cost of $1,545,162. Annualized over 10 years at seven percent
interest, this is $219,996 per year.
BLS provided a unit cost estimate of 28 cents per transaction. This
would amount to $372,000 per year for about 1.3 million transactions.
Adding annual help desk costs of $200,000 would make the total
$572,000.
The contractor and OSHA's Office of Web Services provided higher
budget estimates. The contractor suggested that annual costs could be
as high as $953,000, while the OSHA Office of Web Services suggested a
cost of $626,000 per year. OSHA will also continue to require three
full-time-equivalent workers (FTEs) to administer the new electronic
recordkeeping system. OSHA believes these FTEs will cost the government
$150,000 each, including salary and benefits, for a total of $450,000
per year. Added to the BLS cost of $572,000 and the annualized start-up
cost of $220,000, this would amount to $1,242,000, or just over $1.2
million, and less than the budget of the current ODI. Adding the FTE
costs to the contractor and OSHA Office of Web Services estimates,
along with the annualized start-up cost yields a range of between $1.2
million and $1.6 million per year. For its best estimate, OSHA will use
the BLS estimated costs per transaction, because this estimate is based
on actual experience with implementing a similar program.
5. Total Costs of the Rule
As shown in the table below, the total costs of the proposed rule
would be an estimated $11.9 million per year.
Table V-1--Total Costs of the Proposed Rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost element Annual costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quarterly electronic submission of Part 1904 records $6,954,950
by establishments with 250 or more employees........
Annual electronic submission of OSHA annual summary 3,695,939
form (Form 300A) by establishments with 20 or more
employees in designated industries..................
This includes:
Cost for annual electronic submission............ 2,622,397
[[Page 67276]]
Cost for establishments without a computer....... 883,607
Cost for establishments with non-certified 189,935
records.........................................
Electronic submission of Part 1904 records upon * 0
notification........................................
Total Private Sector Costs........................... 10,650,889
Total Government Costs............................... 1,242,000
------------------
Total............................................ 11,892,889
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* This part of the proposed rule has no immediate costs or economic
impacts. Under this part of the proposed rule, an establishment would
be required to submit data electronically if OSHA notified the
establishment to do so as part of a specified data collection. Each
specified data collection would be associated with its own particular
costs, benefits, and economic impacts, which OSHA would estimate as
part of obtaining OMB approval for the specified data collection under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
The above costs include the costs (estimated to be $189,935) for
establishments that are currently out of compliance with the existing
certification requirements to come into compliance with these
requirements before electronically submitting their data to OSHA.
However, OSHA did not include costs related to another possibility--
namely, that this proposal would result in increased costs for meeting
OSHA recordkeeping requirements by employers who currently certify that
their records are accurate, because these employers will take more
pains to ensure accuracy if the records are electronically submitted to
OSHA. There are several reasons why OSHA assumes no added burden for
these employers who already certify that their records are accurate.
First, as noted, the proposed rule does not add to or change any
employer's obligation to complete, retain, and certify injury and
illness records. The proposed rule also does not add to or change the
recording criteria or definitions for these records. The only change is
that, under certain circumstances, employers will be obligated to
transmit information from these records to OSHA in an electronic format
(either a file or by a secure Web page). Many employers are already
doing this through the OSHA Data Initiative; these employers have not
commented, either on the rule or on the paperwork analyses, that they
incurred additional costs beyond those that OSHA estimated (see for
example the ODI ICR 200912-1218-012 and the SOII ICR 201209-1220-001).
Second, employers are already required to examine and certify the
information they collect, under penalty of perjury. Employers who are
already sufficiently satisfied with the accuracy of their records to
accept the risk of a criminal penalty are unlikely to do more simply
because they must electronically submit the records to OSHA. Therefore,
the prospect of submitting their data to OSHA would not provide any
additional incentive to carefully record injuries and illnesses.
Third, injury and illness records kept under Part 1904 are already
available to OSHA and the public in a variety of ways. The annual
summary data must be posted where employees can see it. Employees or
their representatives can also obtain and publicize most of the
information from these records at any time, if they so wish. These are
the people who are most likely to recognize if the records are
inaccurate. Finally, OSHA Compliance Officers routinely review these
records when they perform workplace inspections. While OSHA inspections
are a rare event for the typical business, they are much more common
for firms with over twenty employees in the kinds of higher-hazard
industries subject to this rule.
Nevertheless, OSHA welcomes comment on the issue of whether
employers newly required to submit records to OSHA may spend additional
time assuring the accuracy of their records, beyond what they spend
now. If all 360,000 facilities (440,863 minus 80,000) not now
submitting data to ODI were to spend an extra half hour for a human
resources specialist to double-check the data prior to submission, then
the costs of this rule would increase by $7.2 million. While this would
be a substantial addition to the costs of the rule, such an addition
would not alter OSHA's conclusion that this is neither an economically-
significant rule nor a rule that would impose significant costs on a
substantial number of small businesses.
c. Benefits
OSHA anticipates that establishments' electronic submission of
establishment-specific injury/illness data will improve OSHA's ability
to identify, target, and remove safety and health hazards, thereby
preventing workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths. In addition, OSHA
believes that the data submission requirements of the proposed rule
will improve the quality of the information and lead employers to
increase workplace safety.
Finally, the Agency plans to make the injury and illness data
public, as encouraged by President Obama's Open Government Initiative.
Online access to these data will allow the public, including employees
and potential employees, researchers, employers, and workplace safety
consultants, to use and benefit from the data. It will support the
development of innovative ideas and allow everybody with a stake in
workplace safety to participate in improving occupational safety and
health. The data collected by BLS is mostly used in the aggregate.
While BLS makes micro data available in a restricted way to
researchers, OSHA will make micro data, including case data, available
to researchers and the public with far fewer restrictions.
The BLS SOII is used as a basis for much of the research on
workplace safety and health in the US. Typical examples include
Economic Burden of Occupational Injury and Illness in the United
States, by J. Paul Leigh (2011); Analyzing the Equity and Efficiency of
OSHA Enforcement, by Wayne B. Gray and John T. Scholz (1991);
Establishment Size and Risk of Occupational Injury, by Dr. Arthur
Oleinick MD, JD, MPH, Jeremy V. Gluck Ph.D., MPH, and Kenneth E. Guire
(1995); and Occupational Injury Rates in the U.S Hotel Industry, by
Susan Buchanan et al. in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine
(2010). Some of these studies, such as Gray and Sholtz, use
establishment data previously only available on site at BLS.
The data base resulting from this proposed rule would provide for
the use of establishment-specific data without having to work under the
restrictions imposed by BLS for the use of confidential data. It would
also provide data on injury and illness classifications that are not
currently available from any source, including the BLS SOII.
Specifically, under this collection, there would be case-specific data
for injuries
[[Page 67277]]
and illnesses that do not involve days away from work. The BLS case and
demographic data is limited to cases involving days away from work and
a small subset of cases involving restricted work activity.
In order to determine possible monetary benefits to this rule, OSHA
calculated the value of statistical life (VSL) using Viscusi & Aldy's
(2003) meta-analysis of studies in the economics literature that use a
willingness-to-pay methodology to estimate the imputed value of life-
saving programs. The authors found that each fatality avoided was
valued at approximately $7 million in 2000 dollars. Using the GDP
Deflator (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2010), OSHA estimated that
this $7 million base number in 2000 dollars yields an estimate of $8.7
million in 2009 dollars for each fatality avoided.
Many injuries and fatalities can be prevented at minimal costs. For
example, the costs of greater use of already-purchased personal
protective equipment are minimal, yet many fatalities described in
OSHA's IMIS system could have been prevented through the use of
available personal protective equipment. This includes fatalities
related to falls when a person was wearing fall protection but did not
have the lanyard attached and to electric shocks where arc protection
was available or left in the truck. For such minimal-cost preventative
measures, assuming they have costs of prevention of less than $1
million per fatality prevented and using the VSL of $8.7 million and
other parameters typically used in OSHA benefits, if the proposed rule
leads to either 1.5 fewer fatalities or 0.025% fewer injuries per year,
the rule's benefits will be equal to or greater than the costs. Many
accident-prevention measures will have some costs, but even if these
costs are 75 percent of the benefits, the proposed rule would have
benefits exceeding costs if it prevented 4.8 fatalities or 0.8% fewer
injuries per year. OSHA expects the rule's beneficial effects to exceed
these values.
d. Regulatory Alternatives
1. Estimated Additional Costs for Alternative I--Enterprise-Wide
Submission
OSHA estimated costs for corporate reporting for three different
scope options for this requirement. All of the scope options are for
enterprises with five or more establishments, but the options vary with
respect to the size of establishment that the enterprise would need to
include in the enterprise report.
According to Dun and Bradstreet (2012), there are 28,127
enterprises with five or more establishments subject to OSHA
recordkeeping requirements. These enterprises have a total of 584,662
establishments.
Under the first scope option, labeled ``Establishments with 1 or
more'' in Table V-2, enterprises would be required to include in their
report all establishments subject to reporting requirements, regardless
of the establishments' number of employees. This option would require
reporting for 584,662 establishments.
OSHA also examined an option that would require reporting only for
establishments with 11 or more employees, labeled ``Establishments with
11 or more'' in Table V-2. This option would require reporting for
291,425 establishments.
A third option, ``Establishments with 20 or more'' in Table V-2,
would require reporting only for establishment with 20 or more
employees. This option would require reporting by 223,592
establishments.
Note that the D&B estimate for the number of establishments with 20
or more employees is close to OSHA's estimate of establishments with 20
or more employees. The reason the number differs from the 440,000
establishments with 20 or more employees used elsewhere in the PEA is
that the D&B estimate is only for establishments that have 20 or more
employees and are part of a larger enterprise with five or more
establishments subject to recordkeeping requirements.
For all three options, OSHA has assumed that the number of
enterprises that would need to provide enterprise-wide reports is
28,127, as noted in Footnote 1 in Table V-2, below. This assumption is
necessary because the data OSHA received from Dun and Bradstreet only
provided information on the total number of enterprises with five or
more establishments required to keep records and on the total number of
establishments controlled by these enterprises that had either eleven
or more employees or twenty or more employees. OSHA did not receive
information on the numbers of enterprises that control only larger
establishments, such as establishments employing 11 or more employees
or establishments employing 20 or more employees. However, OSHA expects
that the number of enterprises with five or more establishments
employing 11 or more employees is smaller than 28,127 and that the
number of enterprises with five or more establishments employing 20 or
more employees is smaller still. As a result, OSHA's estimates of costs
for the second option (``Establishments with 11 or more'') and third
option (''Establishments with 20 or more'') are probably overestimates.
OSHA estimates that:
(1) Each establishment will need 10 minutes to transmit its OSHA
records to its parent enterprise. The Agency would not require these
establishments to transmit their records electronically to the parent
enterprise. They would also be allowed to use the mail, telephone, or
fax. Note that establishments in the affected NAICS codes are already
complying with Part 1904 recordkeeping requirements. Thus, the
enterprise-wide reporting requirement would only change their
recordkeeping procedures by requiring them to transmit their OSHA log
once a year to their parent enterprise, instead of to OSHA.
(2) the parent enterprise will need 10 minutes per establishment to
collate, review, and, if necessary, convert to electronic format the
records from each of their affected establishments.
(3) the parent enterprise will need an additional 10 minutes for
the required electronic transmittal of the records to OSHA.
For the purposes of this analysis, OSHA has assumed that no parent
enterprise currently consolidates and reviews injury and illness
records from establishments it controls. This assumption probably
results in a significant overestimate of the costs.
Given the scope alternatives and the estimates outlined above, the
costs for each alternative are shown in Table V-2. The highest-cost
option is the first option, ``Establishments with 1 or more''. The
yearly costs for this alternative, in addition to those already in the
NPRM, are a total of $6,688,924.
These costs are calculated by subtracting the number of
establishments with reporting costs already included elsewhere in the
PEA (223,592 establishments) from the total number of affected
establishments (584,662), resulting in a net of 361,070 establishments.
361,070 establishments multiplied by 10 minutes (1/6 of an hour) of
reporting time per establishment multiplied by a wage rate of $40.04
per hour [361,070 x 1/6 x $40.04] produces a cost of $2,409,540.
The wage rate of $40.04 is used because OSHA assumes that a Human
Resources Specialist will do the establishment transmittal and the
enterprise review and transmittal. In the main cost analysis of the
PEA, OSHA noted that in some establishments a bookkeeper might do this
sort of work, and in others a health and safety specialist might do it.
OSHA welcomes
[[Page 67278]]
comments on the occupations that would send and receive records at the
establishment and enterprise level, and the hourly wage rate for those
occupations.
There are also the additional costs of enterprise-level review and
submittal of the data to OSHA; the enterprise review cost is calculated
by 584,662 establishments multiplied by 10 minutes per establishment
multiplied by $40.04 per hour. This produces a cost of $3,901,644. The
cost of enterprise transmittal to OSHA is $187,700 (28,127 enterprises
multiplied by 10 minutes per enterprise multiplied by $40.04 per hour).
Finally, in the PEA, OSHA recognizes that a very small percent (1.6
percent) of establishments do not currently comply with OSHA
regulations by certifying and reviewing their OSHA records. While the
rate of non-compliance may be lower among establishments that are part
of large, multi-establishment enterprises, OSHA has used the same 1.6-
percent estimate of non-compliance at the establishment level in this
analysis. As in the PEA, a wage plus benefit rate of $65.79 per hour,
for an Industrial Production Manager, is used to determine the cost of
certification for those establishments not in compliance. That final
additional cost is reported in the last row of Table V-2.
Following the same calculation process, for the second option,
``Establishments with 11 or more'', there are almost 300,000 fewer
establishments, and the additional cost would be roughly $4 million
less, or $2,620,851.
For the third option, ``Establishments with 20 or more'', all of
the establishments with 20 or more employees would already be required
to report to OSHA in this NPRM, regardless of the enterprise-wide
reporting requirement. Under the enterprise-wide reporting requirement,
these establishments would instead report to their parent enterprise,
and the only cost incurred would be to that parent enterprise,
including the cost of enterprise review and submission.
Table V-2--Additional Costs for Corporate Reporting, Enterprises With Five or More Establishments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Establishments with Establishments with Establishments with
1 or more: Provide 11 or more: Provide 20 or more: Provide
enterprise-wide enterprise-wide enterprise-wide
report including all report including all report including all
establishments with establishments with establishments with
1 or more employees 11 or more employees 20 or more employees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Establishments...................... 584,662 291,425 223,592
Baseline (Number of Establishments Already in 223,592 223,592 223,592
the PEA).....................................
Net Number of Establishments Newly Required to 361,070 67,833 0
Report.......................................
Number of Enterprises \1\..................... 28,127 28,127 28,127
Establishment Reporting and Review Cost \2\... $2,409,540 $452,672 \3\ $0
Enterprise Review Cost \4\.................... $3,901,644 $1,944,776 $1,492,104
Enterprise Electronic Reporting Cost \5\...... $187,700 $187,700 $187,700
Recordkeeping Certification Cost (for $190,038 $35,702 $0
establishments that should currently certify
but do not)..................................
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Incremental Cost of Corporate $6,688,924 $2,620,851 $1,679,804
Reporting................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Number of enterprises is constant across size categories, per D&B data.
\2\ Estimated time requirements for establishments: 10 minutes to transmit to the enterprise.
\3\ For the ``Establishments with 20 or more'' option, those establishments already incurred review,
digitization, and transmittal costs in the PEA.
\4\ Estimated time requirements for enterprises: 10 minutes to collate, review, and digitize per establishment
reporting.
\5\ 10 minutes to transmit to OSHA at the enterprise level.
2. Benefits of Alternative I--Enterprise-Wide Submission
As stated in the PEA, OSHA believes that the submission of
establishment injury and illness data to the controlling enterprise
will have benefits by improving the ability of OSHA to identify,
target, and remove safety and health hazards by targeting enterprises
as well as establishments. In addition, OSHA believes that the
submission of data from establishments to their parent enterprises will
improve the quality of the information available and lead to increased
worker safety.
The resources that reduce workplace injuries and illnesses most
effectively are found at the establishment and enterprise level.
Submission of establishment data to the enterprise will improve
communication and reporting between establishments and enterprises.
This will alert enterprise managers to safety and health hazards,
allowing safety and health resources within the enterprise to be
reallocated in a more efficient manner, improving the enterprise's
ability to solve establishment safety and health problems.
As noted above, many injuries and fatalities can be prevented at
minimal cost. For example, the costs of greater use of already-
purchased personal protective equipment are minimal. In terms of
workplace fatalities, Option 1 ``Establishments with 1 or more'', with
an incremental cost of $6.7 million, would have a net beneficial effect
if it averted one additional workplace fatality every year (relative to
the rule as proposed). In terms of workplace injuries, Option 1 would
have a net beneficial effect if it reduced the number of injuries by an
additional 110 per year (or one injury for every 255 enterprises
required to participate in corporate reporting). This would represent
approximately a 0.00003 percent reduction in the 3 million recordable
private-sector injuries each year. Even if the costs of averting
fatalities or injuries were 75 percent of the benefits, the proposed
alternative would have benefits exceeding the costs if it prevented
four additional fatalities or 0.00012% fewer injuries\5\. Obviously,
Option 2 (``Establishments with 11 or more'') and Option 3
(``Establishments with 20 or more'') would have even smaller
incremental costs. They would therefore have a net beneficial effect
with only very small additional numbers of fatalities averted or
injuries
[[Page 67279]]
prevented (relative to the rule as proposed). Option 2
(``Establishments with 11 or more'') would have a net beneficial effect
if it averted one additional occupational fatality every 3.3 years, or
reduced the number of occupational injuries by an additional 43 per
year (or one injury for every 650 enterprises required to participate
in enterprise-wide reporting). If the costs of preventing a fatality
were 75 percent of the benefits, the benefits would exceed the costs
even if just one fatality every nine months were prevented. Option 3
(``Establishments with 20 or more'') would have a net beneficial effect
if it averted one additional fatality every 4.5 years, or reduced the
number of injuries by an additional 28 per year (or one injury for
every 1,000 enterprises required to participate in enterprise-wide
reporting). If the costs of preventing an injury were 75 percent of the
benefits, the benefits would still exceed the costs if just 112
injuries per year (or one injury per every 250 enterprises) were
prevented by participation in enterprise-wide reporting.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ These calculations are based on a VSL of $8.7 million and an
average cost per workplace injury or illness of $60,000 (Viscusi and
Aldy (2003)). In the Option 1 example, one fatality valued at $8.7
million is approximately 25 percent more than the annual cost of
Option 1. The logic is precisely the same for injuries prevented. To
arrive at a break-even point of 110 injuries prevented, divide the
annual cost of $6.6 million by $60,000 per injury.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OSHA welcomes public comment on Alternative I.
e. Economic Feasibility
OSHA preliminarily concludes that the proposed rule will be
economically feasible. For the quarterly reporting requirement,
affecting establishments with 250 or more employees, the average cost
per affected establishment will be $183 per year. For the annual
reporting requirement, affecting establishments with 20 or more
employees in designated industries, the average cost per affected
establishment will be $9.40 per year. These costs will not affect the
economic viability of these establishments.
f. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
The part of the proposed rule requiring quarterly reporting for
establishments with 250 or more employees will affect some small firms,
according to the definition of small firm used by the Small Business
Administration (SBA). In some sectors, such as construction, where
SBA's definition only allows relatively smaller firms, there are
unlikely to be any firms with 250 or more employees that meet SBA
small-business definitions. In other sectors, such as manufacturing, a
small minority of SBA-defined small businesses will be subject to this
rule. Thus, this part of the proposed rule will affect only a small
percentage of all small firms. However, because some small firms will
be affected, especially in manufacturing, OSHA has examined the impacts
on small businesses of the costs of this rule. OSHA's procedures for
assessing the significance of proposed rules on small businesses
suggest that costs greater than 1% of revenues or 5% of profits may
result in a significant impact on a substantial number of small
businesses. To meet this level of significance at an estimated annual
average cost of $183 per affected establishment per year, annual
revenues for an establishment with 250 or more employees would have to
be less than $18,300, and annual profits would have to be less than
$3,660. These are extremely unlikely combinations of revenue and
profits for firms of this size and would only occur for a very small
number of firms in severe financial distress.
The part of the proposed rule requiring annual electronic
submission of data from establishments with 20 or more employees in
designated industries will also affect some small firms. As stated
above, costs greater than 1% of revenues or 5% of profits may result in
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
businesses. To meet this level of significance at an estimated annual
average cost of $9.40 per affected establishment per year, annual
revenues for an establishment with 20 or more employees would have to
be less than $900, and annual profits would have to be less than $180.
These are extremely unlikely combinations of revenue and profits for
establishments of this size.
As a result of these considerations, per Sec. 605 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, OSHA proposes to certify that this proposed
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Thus, OSHA has not prepared an initial
regulatory flexibility analysis. OSHA is interested in comments on this
certification.
VI. OMB Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed rule would revise an existing collection of
information, as defined and covered by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations.
Docket exhibit OSHA 2013-0023-0001 shows examples of user
interfaces for the current electronic reporting system associated with
the ODI and an expanded interface to collect case-specific data. OSHA
currently expects that the user interfaces for the electronic reporting
system proposed by this rule would be similar to these user interfaces.
Screen shots of this interface can also be viewed on OSHA's Web site at
http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/proposed_data_form.html. OSHA
invites public comment on these user interfaces, including suggestions
on any interface features that would minimize the burden of reporting
the required data.
Under Control Number 1218-0176, OSHA currently has OMB approval,
under the PRA, to conduct an information collection that requires
employers to maintain information on work-related fatalities, injuries,
and illnesses, and to submit this information to OSHA. The proposed
rule would also have these requirements.
The proposed rule would amend 29 CFR 1904.41 to add three new
electronic reporting requirements for injury and illness information
employers are already required to keep under 29 CFR Part 1904. First,
OSHA would require establishments that are required to keep injury and
illness records under Part 1904, and that had 250 or more employees in
the previous year, to submit information from these records to OSHA or
OSHA's designee, electronically, on a quarterly basis. Second, OSHA
would require establishments that are required to keep injury and
illness records under Part 1904, had 20 or more employees in the
previous year, and are in certain designated industries to
electronically submit the information from the OSHA annual summary form
(Form 300A) to OSHA or OSHA's designee on an annual basis. The second
submission requirement would replace OSHA's annual illness and injury
survey, authorized by the current version of 29 CFR 1904.41. Third,
OSHA would require all employers who receive notification from OSHA to
electronically submit specified information from their injury and
illness records to OSHA or OSHA's designee.
In accordance with 44 U.S.C. 3507(d), OSHA prepared and submitted a
revised Information Collection Request (ICR) for this proposed
regulation to OMB for review. OSHA solicits comments on the proposed
revised collection of information requirements and the estimated burden
hours associated with these requirements, including comments on the
following items:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of OSHA's functions, including whether the
information has practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of OSHA's burden estimate (time and cost);
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collected;
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
employers, including the use of
[[Page 67280]]
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, and
(e) ways to further reduce the information collection burden on
small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
As required by 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) and 1320.8(d)(2), the
following paragraphs provide information about this ICR.
1. Title: 29 CFR Part 1904 Recordkeeping and Reporting Occupational
Injuries and Illnesses
2. Number of respondents: OSHA proposes to require establishments
that are required to keep injury and illness records under Part 1904,
and that had 250 or more employees in the previous year, to submit
information from these records to OSHA or OSHA's designee,
electronically, on a quarterly basis. There are approximately 38,000
establishments that will be subject to this requirement and that will
submit detailed case characteristic data on approximately 900,000
occupational injuries and illnesses per year. OSHA also proposes to
require establishments that are required to keep injury and illness
records under Part 1904, had 20 or more employees in the previous year,
and are in certain designated industries to electronically submit the
information from the OSHA annual summary form (Form 300A) to OSHA or
OSHA's designee on an annual basis. There are approximately 440,000
establishments that will be subject to this requirement. Finally, OSHA
proposes to require all employers who receive notification from OSHA to
electronically submit specified information from their injury and
illness records to OSHA or OSHA's designee. This requirement will only
incur a paperwork burden when the agency implements a notice of
collection. For each new data collection conducted under this proposed
provision, the Agency will request OMB approval under separate PRA
control numbers. OSHA currently uses this process for the ODI data
collection conducted under the current Sec. 1904.41, which OMB
currently approves under Control Number 1218-0209. The total number of
respondents to all requirements under Part 1904 is 1,665,374.
3. Frequency of responses: Quarterly; Annually; On occasion.
4. Number of responses: 1,369,245.
5. Average time per response: Time per response varies from 10
minutes for establishments reporting only under 1904.41(a)(2), to
multiple hours for large establishments with many recordable injuries
and illnesses reporting under 1904.41(a)(1). The average time of
response per establishment is 29 minutes.
6. Estimated total burden hours: The proposed change will add an
additional 228,664 hours of burden to the recordkeeping rule (Part
1904) and bring the total burden for the entire rule to 3,195,901
hours.
7. Estimated costs (capital-operation and maintenance): There are
no capital costs for the proposed information collection.
Members of the public may comment on the paperwork requirements in
this proposed regulation by sending their written comments to the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer
for the Department of Labor, OSHA (Regulation Identifier Number (RIN)
1218-AC50), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC
20503; telephone: 202-395-6929; fax: 202-395-6881 (these are not toll-
free numbers); email: [email protected]. Please limit the
comments to only the proposed changed provisions of the recordkeeping
rule (i.e. proposed Sec. 1904.41).
OSHA encourages commenters also to submit their comments on these
paperwork requirements to the rulemaking docket (OSHA-2013-0023), along
with their comments on other parts of the proposed regulation. For
instructions on submitting these comments to the docket, see the
sections of this Federal Register notice titled DATES and ADDRESSES.
Comments submitted in response to this notice are public records;
therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about submitting personal
information such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. To
access the docket to read or download comments and other materials
related to this paperwork determination, including the complete
information collection request (ICR), use the procedures described
under the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES. You may obtain an
electronic copy of the complete Information Collection Request (ICR) by
going to the Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, then
select ``Department of Labor'' under ``Currently Under Review'', then
click on ``submit''. This will show all of the Department's ICRs
currently under review, including the ICRs submitted for proposed
rulemakings. To make inquiries, or to request other information,
contact Mr. Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA,
Room N-3609, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2222; email
[email protected].
OSHA notes that a federal agency cannot (1) conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless OMB approves it under the PRA, and the
information collection displays a currently-valid OMB control number,
and (2) require a party to respond to a collection of information
unless the collection of information displays a currently-valid OMB
control number. Also, notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
party shall be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a
collection of information if the collection of information does not
display a currently-valid OMB control number. OSHA will publish a
notice of OMB's action when it publishes the final regulation, or, if
not approved by then, when OMB authorizes the information collection
requirements under the PRA.
VII. Unfunded Mandates
For purposes of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
1501 et seq.), as well as Executive Order 12875, this proposed rule
does not include any federal mandate that may result in increased
expenditures by state, local, and tribal governments, or increased
expenditures by the private sector of more than $100 million.
VIII. Federalism
The proposed rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255 (Aug. 4, 1999)), regarding federalism. Because
this rulemaking involves a ``regulation'' issued under Sections 8 and
24 of the OSH Act, and is not an ``occupational safety and health
standard'' issued under Sec. 6 of the OSH Act, the rule will not
preempt state law (29 U.S.C. 667(a)). The effect of the proposed rule
on states is discussed in section IX. State Plan States.
IX. State Plan States
For the purposes of Sec. 18 of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 667) and the
requirements of 29 CFR 1904.37 and 1952.4, within 6 months after
publication of the final OSHA rule, state-plan states must promulgate
occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements
that are substantially identical to those in 29 CFR Part 1904
``Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.'' All
other injury and illness recording and reporting requirements (for
example, industry exemptions, reporting of fatalities and
hospitalizations, record retention, or employee involvement) that are
promulgated by state-plan states may be more stringent than, or
supplemental to,
[[Page 67281]]
the federal requirements, but, because of the unique nature of the
national recordkeeping program, states must consult with OSHA and
obtain approval of such additional or more stringent reporting and
recording requirements to ensure that they will not interfere with
uniform reporting objectives (29 CFR 1904.37(b)(2)), 29 CFR 1952.4(a)).
There are 27 state plan states and territories. The states and
territories that cover private sector employers are Alaska, Arizona,
California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan,
Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and
Wyoming. Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin
Islands have OSHA-approved state plans that apply to state and local
government employees only.
X. Public Participation
Because this rulemaking involves a regulation rather than a
standard, it is governed by the notice and comment requirements in the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553) rather than section 6
of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 655) and 29 CFR Part 1911 (both of which only
apply to ``promulgating, modifying or revoking occupational safety or
health standards'' (29 CFR 1911.1)). Therefore, the OSH Act requirement
to hold an informal public hearing (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(3)) on a proposed
rule, when requested, does not apply to this rulemaking.
Section 553(b)(1) of the APA requires the agency to issue a
``statement of the time, place, and nature of public rulemaking
proceedings'' (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(1)). The APA does not specify a minimum
period for submitting comments.
a. Public Submissions
OSHA invites comment on all aspects of the proposed rule. OSHA
specifically encourages comment on the questions raised in the issues
and questions subsection. Interested persons must submit comments by
February 6, 2014. The Agency will carefully review and evaluate all
comments, information, and data, as well as all other information in
the rulemaking record, to determine how to proceed.
You may submit comments in response to this document (1)
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the federal e-
rulemaking portal; (2) by fax; or (3) by hard copy. All submissions
must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket number (Docket No.
OSHA-2013-0023) or RIN (RIN No. 1218-AC49) for this rulemaking. You may
supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If, instead, you wish to mail additional materials in
reference to an electronic or fax submission, you must submit three
copies to the OSHA docket office (see ADDRESSES section). The
additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments by
name, date, and docket number, so that OSHA can attach them to your
comments.
Because of security-related procedures, the use of regular mail may
cause a significant delay in the receipt of submissions. For
information about security procedures concerning the delivery of
materials by hand, express delivery, messenger, or courier service,
please contact the OSHA docket office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-
5627).
b. Access to Docket
Comments in response to this Federal Register notice are posted at
http://www.regulations.gov, the federal e-rulemaking portal. Therefore,
OSHA cautions individuals about submitting personal information such as
Social Security numbers and birthdates. Although submissions are listed
in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g.,
copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download
through that Web site. All comments and exhibits, including copyrighted
material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA docket
office. Information on using http://www.regulations.gov to submit
comments and access dockets is available on that Web site. Contact the
OSHA docket office for information about materials not available
through the Web site and for assistance in using the Internet to locate
docket submissions.
Electronic copies of this Federal Register document are available
at http://www.regulations.gov. This document, as well as news releases
and other relevant information, also are available at OSHA's Web page
at http://www.osha.gov. For specific information about OSHA's
Recordkeeping rule, go the Recordkeeping page on OSHA's Web page.
Authority and Signature
This document was prepared under the direction of David Michaels,
Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health. It is issued under Sections 8 and 24 of the Occupational Safety
and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 657, 673), Section 553 of the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 41-
2012 (77 FR 3912 (Jan. 25, 2012)).
List of Subjects
29 CFR Part 1904
Health statistics, Occupational safety and health, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, State plans.
29 CFR Part 1952
Health statistics, Intergovernmental relations, Occupational safety
and health, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, State plans.
Signed at Washington, DC, on October 31, 2013.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
Amendments to Standards
For the reasons stated in the preamble, OSHA proposes to amend
parts 1904 and 1952 of Chapter XVII of Title 29 as follows:
PART 1904--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 1904 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 29 U.S.C. 657, 658, 660, 666, 669, 673, Secretary of
Labor's Order No. 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), and 5 U.S.C. 533.
Subpart E--Reporting Fatality, Injury and Illness Information to
the Government
0
2. Add an authority citation to Subpart E of 29 CFR part 1904 to read
as follows:
Authority: Sections 8 and 24 of the Occupational Safety and
Health Act (29 U.S.C. 657, 673), 5 U.S.C. 553, and Secretary of
Labor's Order 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, Jan. 25, 2012).
0
3. Revise Sec. 1904.41 to read as follows:
Sec. 1904.41 Electronic submission of injury and illness records to
OSHA.
(a) Basic requirements--(1) Quarterly electronic submission of Part
1904 records by establishments with 250 or more employees. If your
establishment is required to keep records under Part 1904 and had 250
or more employees (including full-time, part-time, temporary, and
seasonal workers) at any time during the previous calendar year, you
must electronically send to OSHA or OSHA's designee, on a quarterly
basis, all of the information from the records that you keep under Part
1904.
(i) The data for injuries, illnesses, and fatalities recorded
during the period of January through March must be submitted no later
than April 30.
(ii) The data for injuries, illnesses, and fatalities recorded
during the period
[[Page 67282]]
of April through June must be submitted no later than July 31.
(iii) The data for injuries, illnesses, and fatalities recorded
during the period of July through September must be submitted no later
than October 31.
(iv) The data for injuries, illnesses, and fatalities recorded
during the period of October through December must be submitted no
later than January 31.
(v) The summary data from OSHA Form 300A must be submitted no later
than March 2 of the year after the calendar year covered by the form.
(2) Annual electronic submission of OSHA annual summary form (Form
300A) by establishments with 20 or more employees in designated
industries. If your establishment had 20 or more employees (including
full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers) at any time
during the previous calendar year, and is classified in any of the
industries listed in Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 1904, you must
electronically send to OSHA or OSHA's designee, once a year, the
information from your completed annual summary form (Form 300A). The
information must be submitted no later than March 2 of the year after
the calendar year covered by the form.
(3) Electronic submission of Part 1904 records upon notification.
Upon notification, you must electronically send to OSHA or OSHA's
designee the requested information, at the specified time interval,
from the records that you keep under Part 1904.
(b) Implementation--(1) Does every employer have to send data to
OSHA? No, in any given year, some employers will have to send data to
OSHA, and some employers will not. If your establishment is required to
keep records under Part 1904 and had 250 or more employees in the
previous calendar year, you must submit all of your Part 1904 data to
OSHA on a quarterly basis, without notification from OSHA. Also, if
your establishment is classified in any of the industries listed in
Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 1904 and had 20 or more employees in
the previous calendar year, you must submit the information from the
annual summary form (Form 300A) to OSHA once a year, without
notification from OSHA. This information must be submitted no later
than March 2 of the year after the calendar year covered by the form
(for example, no later than March 2, 2012, for the 2011 annual summary
form). Otherwise, you must only submit injury and illness data to OSHA
if you are notified to do so for an individual data collection.
(2) How will I be notified that I have to submit the data?
Employers required to submit data on a quarterly basis (that is,
employers that are required to keep records under Part 1904 and had 250
or more employees in the previous calendar year) will not be notified.
Employers required to submit data once a year (that is, employers, in
designated industries, that had 20 or more employees in the previous
calendar year) will also not be notified. Employers required to submit
data as part of an individual data collection will be notified by mail.
OSHA will also announce individual data collections through publication
in the Federal Register and the OSHA newsletter, and announcements on
the OSHA Web site.
(3) How often do I have to submit the data? Establishments that are
required to keep records under Part 1904 and had 250 or more employees
in the previous calendar year must submit their Form 300 and Form 301
data on a quarterly basis and their annual summary data, from Form
300A, on an annual basis. Establishments that are in designated
industries and had 20 or more employees in the previous calendar year
must submit their Form 300A data once a year. Establishments that
receive a notification for an individual data collection must submit
their data according to the frequency specified in the notification.
(4) How do I submit the data? Establishments must submit their data
electronically. OSHA will provide a secure Web site for the electronic
submission of data. For individual data collections, OSHA will include
the Web site's location in the notification for the data collection.
The Web site will allow for both direct data entry and submission of
data through a batch file upload, as appropriate.
(5) Do I have to submit data if I am normally exempt from keeping
OSHA injury and illness records? If you are exempt from keeping injury
and illness records under Sec. 1904.1 and/or Sec. 1904.2 of this
part, you will have to submit data only if OSHA informs you in writing
that it will collect injury and illness information from you. If you
receive such a notification, you must keep the injury and illness
records required by Part 1904 and submit data as directed.
(6) Do I have to submit data if I am located in a State-Plan State?
The requirements for submitting data apply to all employers, including
employers in State-Plan States.
0
4. Add Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 1904 to read as follows:
Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 1904--Designated Industries for Annual
Electronic Submission of OSHA Annual Summary Form (Form 300A) by
Establishments With 20 or More Employees in Designated Industries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAICS Industry
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11..................................... Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
and Hunting.
22..................................... Utilities.
23..................................... Construction.
31-33.................................. Manufacturing.
42..................................... Wholesale Trade.
4413................................... Automotive Parts, Accessories,
and Tire Stores.
4421................................... Furniture Stores.
4422................................... Home Furnishings Stores.
4441................................... Building Material and Supplies
Dealers.
4442................................... Lawn and Garden Equipment and
Supplies Stores.
4451................................... Grocery Stores.
4521................................... Department Stores.
4529................................... Other General Merchandise
Stores.
4533................................... Used Merchandise Stores.
4543................................... Direct Selling Establishments.
4811................................... Scheduled Air Transportation.
4832................................... Inland Water Transportation.
4841................................... General Freight Trucking.
4842................................... Specialized Freight Trucking.
4855................................... Charter Bus Industry.
4871................................... Scenic and Sightseeing
Transportation, Land.
[[Page 67283]]
4872................................... Scenic and Sightseeing
Transportation, Water.
4881................................... Support Activities for Air
Transportation.
4882................................... Support Activities for Rail
Transportation.
4883................................... Support Activities for Water
Transportation.
4884................................... Support Activities for Road
Transportation.
4889................................... Other Support Activities for
Transportation.
4921................................... Couriers.
4922................................... Local Messengers and Local
Delivery.
4931................................... Warehousing and Storage.
5152................................... Cable and Other Subscription
Programming.
5311................................... Lessors of Real Estate.
5321................................... Automotive Equipment Rental and
Leasing.
5322................................... Consumer Goods Rental.
5323................................... General Rental Centers.
5617................................... Services to Buildings and
Dwellings.
5621................................... Waste Collection.
5622................................... Waste Treatment and Disposal.
5629................................... Remediation and Other Waste
Management Services.
6216................................... Home Health Care Services.
6221................................... General Medical and Surgical
Hospitals.
6222................................... Psychiatric and Substance Abuse
Hospitals.
6223................................... Specialty (except Psychiatric
and Substance Abuse)
Hospitals.
6231................................... Nursing Care Facilities.
6232................................... Residential Mental Retardation,
Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Facilities.
6233................................... Community Care Facilities for
the Elderly.
6239................................... Other Residential Care
Facilities.
6243................................... Vocational Rehabilitation
Services.
7112................................... Spectator Sports.
7131................................... Amusement Parks and Arcades.
7132................................... Gambling Industries.
7211................................... Traveler Accommodation.
8113................................... Commercial and Industrial
Machinery and Equipment
(except Automotive and
Electronic) Repair and
Maintenance.
8123................................... Drycleaning and Laundry
Services.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 1952--[AMENDED]
0
4. The authority citation for part 1952 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: Sec. 18, 84 Stat. 1608 (29 U.S.C. 667); 29 CFR part
1902; Secretary of Labor's Order 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, Jan. 25, 2012).
0
5. In Sec. 1952.4, revise paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 1952.4 Injury and illness recording and reporting requirements.
* * * * *
(d) As provided in section 18(c)(7) of the Act, State-Plan States
must adopt requirements identical to those in 29 CFR 1904.41 in their
recordkeeping and reporting regulations as enforceable State
requirements. The data collected by OSHA as authorized by Sec. 1904.41
will be made available to the State Plan States. Nothing in any State
plan shall affect the duties of employers to comply with Sec. 1904.41.
[FR Doc. 2013-26711 Filed 11-7-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P