OSHA suspends electronic injury, illness reporting requirement

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has suspended an Obama-era rule requiring that companies electronically report their injury and illness records.

The action prevents these records from being publicly disclosed for the immediate future. Industry groups, including the Associated Builders & Contractors, Associated General Contractors of America, and the National Association of Home Builders, had challenged the 2016 Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule in court.

The organizations had also lobbied the Trump Administration to arguing that the rule could unfairly damage the reputations of some companies. Companies have been required to maintain worker injury and illness logs since 1971.

Between 1995 and 2012, OSHA had required about 180,000 organizations in high-hazard industries such as manufacturing and nursing homes to submit summary data by mail. Officials decided to expand the requirement and convert it to an electronic system to save money. An OSHA spokeswoman said that the agency delayed the rule to address employers’ “concerns about meeting their reporting obligations” in time, according to the Washington Post.