OSHA's electronic recordkeeping rule raises concerns

Here at the Safety 2016 annual meeting of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) in hot Atlanta safety pros are expressing concern over OSHA's new electronic recordkeeping rule.

What concerns pros is not submitting records electronically. Or making company injury/illness records public even. Little known provisions of the rule aim to prevent employers from bullying or intimating workers from reporting injuries. Pros are concerned that safety incentive programs may be deemed by OSHA compliance officers as suppressing injuries in order to win awards.

And pros are concerned that OSHA's warning about using post-injury drug testing without probable cause could result in confusion over when drug testing is permissible and when it is considered a form of intimidation or retaliation against a "bad" employee.

OSHA has created headaches with this rule for safety professionals, said one attendee. There will be many citations contested, going through the OSH Review Commission, he predicted.

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Dave Johnson was chief editor of ISHN from 1980 until early 2020. He uses his decades of expertise to write on hot topics and current events in the world of safety. He also writes and edits at Dave Johnson’s Writing Shop LLC and is editor-at-large for ISHN. Find him at https://www.facebook.com/Dave-Johnsons-Writing-Shop-101316571547263/, and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveljohnsoneditor/.