The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a final rule requiring employers to notify OSHA when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye. The rule goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2015.
Under the revised rule, employers will be required to notify OSHA of work-related fatalities within eight hours, and work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations or losses of an eye within 24 hours. Previously, OSHA's regulations required an employer to report only work-related fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees. Reporting single hospitalizations, amputations or loss of an eye was not required under the previous rule.
The announcement followed the release of preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2013 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries that reported 4,405 workers killed on the job in 2013. All employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, even those who are exempt from maintaining injury and illness records, are required to comply with OSHA's new severe injury and illness reporting requirements. To assist employers, OSHA is developing a Web portal for employers to report incidents electronically, in addition to phone reporting options.
(https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=26673)
Related Stories
| Dec 13, 2012
So-called fiscal cliff is already affecting construction jobs, AGC finds
In November, the construction industry shed 20,000 jobs and its unemployment rate reached 12.2%, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.
| Dec 13, 2012
New York City poised to enact recycling mandate for multi-family dwellings
New York City lags behind other large cities in recycling with only 15% of residential trash being recycled. A new bill passed by the City Council aims to improve the rate by changing how new apartment buildings are constructed.
| Dec 13, 2012
Pima County, Ariz. officials say improved code enforcement scores will help lower insurance bills
Insurance Service Office, Inc. (ISO) recently analyzed building codes and enforcement and found that Pima County, Ariz., consistently outscored comparable jurisdictions in Arizona and the nation.
| Dec 13, 2012
D.C. aims to be a green leader with new building codes
The District of Columbia has released a revised set of building codes to make it a leader in green construction.
| Dec 7, 2012
Georgia court limits contractors’ ability to foreclose on liens
The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in 182 Tenth, LLC v. Manhattan Construction Company that lien claimants such as contractors, subcontractors, and materialmen, may not foreclose on a lien that includes unpaid general condition costs.
| Dec 7, 2012
San Francisco real estate records will include ‘green labels’
Ecologically-sustainable building practices, or “green labels,” will now be included on official land records maintained by San Francisco.
| Dec 7, 2012
Tokyo’s Green Building Program has reduced power consumption by 20%
Tokyo city officials calculate that its Green Building Program reduced energy consumption by 20% since its inception, a statistic they identify as the reason the power stayed on during the 2011 earthquake.
| Dec 7, 2012
New flexible options make achieving LEED certification easier on projects outside the US
A new set of Global Alternative Compliance Paths, or Global ACPs, are now available for all commercial projects pursuing LEED green building certification using the 2009 versions of the rating systems.