The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a revised Recordkeeping rule (29 CFR 1904 et seq.) on January 18, 2001 to improve the system employers’ use to track and record workplace injuries and illnesses. Employers with 10 or fewer employees are exempt from most requirements of the new rule.

The final Recordkeeping rule becomes effective on January 1, 2002. OSHA is publishing the new rule now to give employers ample time to learn the new requirements and to revise computer systems they may be using for recordkeeping. During this transition period, employers must adhere to requirements of the original Recordkeeping rule. The following is a brief summary of some of the key provisions of the new rule:

Updates three recordkeeping forms: OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses); simplified and printed on smaller legal sized paper. OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report); includes more data about how the injury or illness occurred. OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses); a separate form updated to make it easier to calculate incidence rates.

Eliminates different criteria for recording work-related injuries and work-related illnesses; one set of criteria will be used for both.

Requires records to include any work-related injury or illness resulting in one of the following: death; days away from work; restricted work or transfer to another job; medical treatment beyond first aid; loss of consciousness; or diagnosis of a significant injury/illness by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

Includes new definitions of medical treatment, first aid, and restricted work to simplify recording decisions.

Requires a significant degree of aggravation before a preexisting injury or illness becomes recordable.

Adds additional exemptions to the definition of work-relationship to limit recording of cases involving the eating and drinking of food and beverages, common colds and flu, blood donations, exercise programs, mental illnesses, etc.

Clarifies the recording of "light duty" or restricted work cases. Requires employers to record cases when the injured or ill employee is restricted from their "normal duties" which are defined as work activities the employee regularly performs at least once weekly. Work-related injuries are also better defined to ensure the recording only of appropriate cases while excluding cases clearly unrelated to work.

Requires employers to record all “needlestick and sharps” injuries involving contamination by another person's blood or other bodily fluids. This provision is expected to result in a significant increase in recordable cases annually.

Requires employers to record standard threshold shifts (STS) in employees' hearing. (An STS is an adverse change in an employee's hearing threshold, relative to his/her most recent audiogram). Provides a separate column on the OSHA Form 300 to capture statistics on hearing loss.

The recordkeeping rule also conforms to OSHA's ergonomics standard, effective January 16, 2001. Applies the same recording criteria to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) as to all other injuries or illnesses. Employer retains flexibility to determine whether an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the MSD. Forms include columns dedicated to MSD cases.

Includes separate provisions describing the recording criteria for cases involving the work-related transmission of tuberculosis or medical removal under OSHA standards.

Eliminates the term "lost workdays" and focuses on days away or days restricted or transferred. Includes new rules for counting that rely on calendar instead of workdays.

Requires employers to establish a procedure for employees to report injuries and illnesses and tell their employees how to report. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees who do report. For the first time, employee representatives will have access to those parts of the OSHA 301 form relevant to the employees they represent.

Protects employee privacy by (1) prohibiting employers from entering an individual's name on Form 300 for certain types of injuries/illnesses (e.g., sexual assaults, HIV infections, mental illnesses, etc.); (2) providing employers the right not to describe the nature of sensitive injuries where the employee's identity would be known; (3) giving employee’ representatives access only to the portion of Form 301 which contains no personal identifiers; and (4) requiring employers to remove employees' names before providing the data to persons not provided access rights under the rule.

Requires the annual summary to be posted for three months instead of one. Requires certification of the summary by a company executive.

Changes the reporting of fatalities and catastrophes to exclude some motor carrier and motor vehicle accidents.

Finally, employers are given more flexibility in using computers and telecommunications technology to meet their recordkeeping requirements.