CWS ISSUES STATEMENT OPPOSING NEW OSHA INJURY REPORTING RULE
Says Rule Will Not Advance Cause of Workplace Safety
Washington, D.C. — Despite repeated requests and appeals to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration has issued a rule today that will profoundly – and negatively – impact the American business community. Upon the release of the OSHA Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, Coalition for Workplace Safety co-chairs Marc Freedman and Amanda Wood issued the following statement:
“Workplace safety is of the utmost importance to our members, however the announcement of an ill-advised and poorly-written regulation will only result in more regulatory burden with no guarantees to improve workplace safety.
“Without authority to do so, OSHA intends to post employer, location and incident specific injury data. The CWS is especially concerned about the damage that could come from the disclosure of sensitive and proprietary information – which companies go to great lengths to protect. Just as troubling will be the mischaracterization that will result when incidents, such as bee stings, slips and falls, and even heart attacks that do not reflect an employer’s safety culture are posted.
“This rule reverses OSHA’s long standing approach that permitted employers to record injuries without fear of disclosure and therefore use the OSHA recordkeeping process as an internal management tool. Publicizing this data makes the mere recording of any injury an act of disclosure with associated negative impacts.
“The CWS believes OSHA’s new Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses is fatally-flawed and will not help protect employees.”
Further, CWS released its Coalition for Workplace Safety Fact Sheet on OSHA Injury Reporting Regulation.