OSHA Wants Injury Records Public
Large companies would be required for the first time to make their worker injury and illness records public under a new rule that a Labor Department agency is set to propose, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The new proposal, which would affect companies with more than 250 employees, would vastly change current workplace-safety reporting practices. It would require companies to file electronic-injury and illness reports that would be available to the general public, as well as to researchers, company employees, other companies and public officials, people familiar with the matter said.
The proposal is part of a continuing effort by the Obama administration to use such public disclosures to try to compel companies to comply with safety laws.
Workplace-safety advocates say such measures are important because fines imposed by the Labor agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, are often relatively minimal, and the agency has limited resources to inspect workplaces to ensure companies are complying with regulations. Public attention on company safety could have greater impact and prove a bigger deterrent, they say.
Such efforts have long been objected to by employers, who say public attention can present a distorted view of safety practices. Marc Freedman, executive director of labor-law policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said his and other prominent industry groups would likely protest the proposed new rule during a coming commenting period.
Currently, companies have to keep track of workplace injuries and illness, and post summaries in the workplace for employees to access. Selected companies also have to fill out OSHA and Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys on workplace incidents. Yet under the current system, none of that information becomes publicly tied to specific companies.
In a brief description of the proposed rule, the Labor Department characterized the change as part of President Obama’s efforts to increase transparency. It said it would help improve the accuracy of records and statistics, and help prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.