Recordkeeping Isn't Just Paperwork

©istockphoto.com/Paulus Rusyanto

OSHA has proposed a rule that would clarify an employer's continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness throughout the 5-year period during which the employer is required to keep the records. In issuing the proposal, the agency is seeking to clarify its long-standing position that the duty to record an injury or illness continues for as long as the employer must keep records of the recordable injury or illness.

"The proposed amendments add no new compliance obligations; the proposal would not require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for which records are not already required," the agency states. OSHA Administrator David Michaels also points out that injury/illness record keeping documents are not simply paperwork. "Accurate records have an important, in fact life-saving purpose. They will enable employers, employees, researchers and the government to identify and eliminate the most serious workplace hazards--ones that have already caused injuries and illnesses to occur."

If interested, you can submit written comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov (reference Docket No. OSHA-2015-0006).