December, 2018

How to Win at OSHA Compliance

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How to Win at OSHA Compliance

With the March 2nd OSHA deadline right around the corner, you might be feeling the pressures of the impending finish line. The list of tasks to wrap up seems endless and as it grows, so does your anxiety and stress in completing it all on time. In the case of a workforce injury or death in which there could be only one possible outcome - a loss - we want to coach you on how to handle the difficulties of OSHA reporting with confidence and peace of mind.

What is OSHA?

To mark your OSHA game as a “W,” it’s important to first understand what it is. OSHA, or Occupational Safety and Health Administration, was first established in 1971. Its goal is to provide employees with a safe and comfortable working environment in which they are never faced with the threat of injury or death as well as reduce occupational health and safety hazards.

To accomplish this goal, OSHA has set forth standards and guidelines with which companies must comply. Safety and health standards, educational training programs, and prevention programs are all part of the OSHA requirements set forth by the government. In the cases that injury, illness, or death do occur due to employment or safety negligence, employers must promptly and accurately report these to OSHA to correctly provide fair and lawful compensation to those affected.

Gold Medal: Automated Tracking and Reporting Systems

Now that you have a better understanding of OSHA and its goals for the workforce, let’s dive into the OSHA pool and discuss why automating your tracking and reporting processes will help you win gold with ease. Deadlines will be met, time filling out forms will be saved, and penalties will be avoided. As reporting requirements change, an online system ensures you’re ahead of the game.

Going for Gold

When an employee is injured on the job, it’s no laughing matter. First and foremost, there are concerns about the employee’s health and wellness. There can also be countless legal, financial, and safety obligations that arise from such a serious situation, as well as penalties associated with missteps. We’re all human and accidents happen, but with an automated tracking and reporting system, you’ll be well-equipped to properly track and report Worker’s Compensation, prevent future mishaps, and ultimately win at OSHA.

Deadlines

Using an online system that consolidates all processes in a unified database will save you time and ensure deadlines are always met. Electronic form submissions are simple when your data is stored in and pulled from one place. Handling year-end documentation, W-2 adjustments, ACA reporting, and all tasks involved with rounding out the year’s payroll and HR processing in a centralized platform will improve clarity and simplicity. When all processes are efficiently located on one system, tasks can be completed routinely and (nearly) effortlessly.

OSHA Deadlines

Establishments with 250 or more employees and establishments of fewer employees in certain high-risk industries are required to electronically submit 2018 information from OSHA Form 300A by March 2, 2019. With the official rule for tracking and reporting workplace injuries finalized, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is putting a 2-year plan in place to phase in the new electronic tracking requirements.

2018 OSHA tracking Form 300A, The Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, is required. Enterprises of 250 or more employees that are required to keep OSHA records were required to submit all 2018 OSHA tracking forms electronically by March 2, 2019. These requirements currently include forms 300A, 300, and 301. By the same date, companies with fewer than 20-249 employees are required to submit only Form 300A.

Forms

Some online systems that track and manage OSHA data also generate the OSHA forms in the proper format, simplifying your reporting process. Required forms can then simply be submitted to OSHA through the ITA for hassle-free reporting. This reduces the necessary steps significantly and allows you to confidently track injuries and illnesses.

OSHA Forms

Submitting the right forms on time is essential to avoiding mistakes and penalties. So what’s what? There are 3 forms that OSHA requires:

Form 300 - Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
Form 301 - Injury and Illness Incident Report

How To Report

When using an online system that simplifies the tracking process, data automatically populates from incident reports into the required forms. There is little to no additional effort necessary to ensure all forms are properly filled out and submitted. Information is simply logged as an incident, populated into Form 301 automatically, and again pulled into Form 300A.

OSHA Reporting

Using Form 301, all employers are required to notify OSHA in the event of a work-related death within 8 hours. Inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours. Record the employee affected and time, date, and location of the incident.

From here, establishments may fill out the Injury and Illness Incident Report and submit it electronically to OSHA through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA).

Penalties

How can penalties for inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and delayed submissions be avoided? It’s simple. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, using an online system can make these pitfalls a thing of the past. Alerts of inaccuracies in information ensure data is always submitted correctly. It can sometimes be as simple as a clerical error - a misspelling or inversion of numbers, for example - but these mistakes can significantly cost companies.

To reduce the possibility of injury or death altogether, online training programs can be utilized - especially in high-risk industries.

OSHA Penalties

Just as when an employee is injured on the job, it’s unfortunate when your company is fined for not adhering to health and safety guidelines. Companies may also be fined for not appropriately tracking and reporting injuries and illnesses. Click here to see what penalties you could face if OSHA requirements are neglected.

Updates

These employers would be required to electronically submit information only from OSHA Form 300A. Furthermore, OSHA is proposing to require covered employers to submit their Employer Identification Number (EIN) electronically along with their injury and illness data submission.

OSHA Updates

On July 30, 2018, OSHA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to eliminate the requirement to electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301 for establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to maintain injury and illness records.