Check those logs! OSHA on warpath over paperwork accuracy
New study says companies under-report injuries
Heads up! The Secretary of Labor says OSHA will be taking strong enforcement action when companies under-report injuries and illnesses.
That threat from Hilda Solis comes in the wake of Government Accountability Office report that calls on OSHA to take steps to force companies to improve the accuracy of worker injury and illness data.
‘New OSHA’ questions employers
Since their start in the Obama administration, both Solis and acting OSHA head Jordan Barab have been questioning the accuracy of employers’ injury and illness reporting. They’ve gone as far as to suggest the decreases in injuries reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics aren’t accurate.
And the call for strong enforcement action for under-reporting is a chance from the stance OSHA took when it announced a National Emphasis Program on recordkeeping in October.
OSHA said then most recordkeeping violations would be classified as “other-than-serious.” It said willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations would only be issued when inspectors can document deliberate under-reporting.
Not only that, but Barab said OSHA would swiftly implement the recommendations mad by GAO.
OSHA will interview workers
Here’s what the GAO recommends and what it will mean for you:
OSHA will require its inspectors to interview workers during records audits. GAO says workers may not report a work-related injury or illness because they fear job loss or other disciplinary action. They may also fear the loss of rewards based on having low injury and illness rates.
More high-hazard industries will be added to the list used to select worksites for records audits. GAO noted that there are 8 such industries not currently on OSHA’s audit list because it hasn’t been updated since 2002.
OSHA will increase education and training to help employers better understands the recordkeeping requirements. GAO said a lack of understanding of OSHA’s recordkeeping rules may be responsible for errors.
Drug testing and injury reports
The GAO report said workers’ fear of discipline may be compounded by mandatory drug testing after incidents that result in an injury.
An alternative would be to use more mandatory random drug testing so workers don’t associate the practice solely with incidents that cause injuries.
Info: snipurl.com/injury355 for the GAO report, and snipurl.com/s9mdf for OSHA’s recordkeeping inspection program.
Reprinted with permission from
Safety Compliance Alert
800-220-5000
To watch a free video on how to keep your OSHA recordkeeping and perform accident investigations click here
Posted on
Thu, December 17, 2009
by Clint Spencer