OSHA Electronic Reports Are Due March 2

Each year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires certain employers to submit information from their OSHA Form 300A electronically. Affected employers must submit their reports using OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA).

Affected establishments include:

• Establishments with 250 or more employees, if they are already required to create and maintain OSHA records; and
• Establishments with between 20 and 249 employees that belong to a high-risk industry.

OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics may require otherwise exempt establishments to submit these reports on a special, case-by-case basis.

OSHA will collect information on injuries and illnesses to identify emerging hazards, characterize specific areas of concern, or target inspection and outreach initiatives under OSHA’s emphasis program.

Important Dates

February 1

Employers must complete and display their OSHA 300A forms. The forms must be on display until April 30.

March 2

Employers subject to the electronic reporting requirement must submit their electronic reports using the ITA.

Employers must count every individual that worked at that establishment, regardless of whether he or she worked full-time, part-time, or was a temporary or seasonal worker.

Establishment Size

Coverage under the electronic reporting rule applies to establishments, not employers. An employer may have several worksites or establishments. In these situations, some establishments may be affected while others are not.

To determine whether an establishment is affected, employers must determine each establishment’s peak employment during the calendar year and must count every individual that worked at that establishment, regardless of whether he or she worked full-time, part-time, or was a temporary or seasonal worker. A firm with more than one establishment may submit establishment-specific data for multiple establishments.

CDC Provides Guidance on Ventilation in Building

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a webpage providing guidance on ventilation in buildings to reduce COVID-19 exposure indoors.

The CDC provides recommendations on what heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) strategies employers should use to lower the risk of exposure to COVID-19 throughout the workplace. One of the recommendations is to use several layers of safeguards to reduce exposure. This means that, in addition to following good ventilation practices, employers should enforce mask-wearing, social distancing and proper handwashing.

Since SARS-COV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—is spread more easily indoors due to a lack of airflow, it’s important for employers to use the best HVAC practices possible.

The strategies that the CDC provides are meant for use in all indoor environments; however, each building is different, and finding ventilation strategies that work for an employer’s building can prove difficult. Put another way, different ventilation strategies will be necessary for different buildings.