OSHA Issues Final Rule “Clarifying” The Ongoing Obligation To Make And Maintain Accurate Records Of Work-Related Injuries And Illnesses

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced last week a new final rule that “clarifies an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness.” The rule had been proposed in July 2015.

 

OSHA’s longstanding position had been that an employer’s duty to record an injury or illness continues for the full five-year record-retention period. It cited to Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission cases dating back to 1993. In 2012, however, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision, in AKM LLC v. Secretary of Labor, __ F.3d ___, 2012 WL 1142273 (DC Cir., April 06, 2012), reversing the Commission and rejecting OSHA’s position on the continuing nature of its prior recordkeeping regulations.

 

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