LEGAL
Contractors Need to Be Aware of New OSHA
Workplace Injury Reporting Requirements
By C. Ryan Maloney, Foley & Lardner LLP
It goes without saying that accidents can and do happen
on construction sites that result in injuries to workers. For
example, according to the Department of Labor, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there were a total of
3,929 worker fatalities in private industry in the United States in
2013, and of that total, 20.3 percent of the worker fatalities were
in the construction industry.1 While the total number of worker
fatalities in the construction industry actually decreased slightly
from 2012, the construction industry still had the largest percentage
of any industry.2
Given the higher than average potential for accidents and injuries
on the job in the construction industry, contractors need to be
aware of new OSHA reporting requirements related to workplace
injuries that go into effect on January 1, 2015. Under the current
OSHA rules, an employer is required to report to OSHA within
eight hours of an accident when there is either a work-related fatality,
or an accident requiring in-patient hospitalizations of three or
more employees.3
However, under the new OSHA rules, employers not only will
continue to be required to notify OSHA of work-related fatalities
within eight hours, but will also be required to notify OSHA of all
work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations or losses of
an eye within 24 hours.4 This is a major change, as the prior rule
only required employers to notify OSHA when a fatality occurred
or when three or more employees were hospitalized from a single
incident. The changes go into effect Jan. 1, 2015, for workplaces
under federal OSHA jurisdiction. Employers located in states that
operate their own safety and health programs should check with
their state plan for the implementation date of the new requirements.
Employers who fail to comply with the OSHA workplace
injury reporting requirements can be subject to issuance of citations
and assessment of penalties by OSHA.5 Therefore, it is important
that those in the construction industry understand their obligations
and can plan for compliance with the OHSA’s new reporting
requirements before they go into effect. t
References
1. https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/common-stats.html (last visited Sept. 19, 2014).
2. Id. The leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls,
followed by being struck by an object, electrocution, and being caught-in/
between. Id.
3. 19 C.F.R. § 1904.8
4. https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/common-stats.html (last visited Sept. 19, 2014).
5. 19 C.F.R. § 1904.9
Halfpoint/Shutterstock.com
PILEDRIVER | 115
/common-stats.html
/common-stats.html
/Shutterstock.com
