On Jan. 25, OSHA issued the Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses final rule, which eliminates the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA annually.

On Jan. 23, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the Department, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for 2019. This final rule is effective on Jan. 23, 2019.

Employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s recordkeeping rule are required to post their 2018 OSHA Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries in an area where notices to employees are typically posted from Feb. 1 through April 30. The form must be posted in a visible spot at each covered establishment.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration has created a collection of events, training guides, videos and web pages to provide employers and employees with prevention and compliance assistance to prevent falls in the workplace.

OSHA’s Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule requires certain establishments to electronically submit information from their OSHA Form 300A for calendar year 2018 by March 2. Information on how to electronically submit the OSHA Form 300A can be found on OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application website.

On Nov. 9, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a final rule that updates its standard for cranes and derricks in construction to ensure crane operators are qualified to safely operate equipment. The final rule requires employers to train operators as needed to perform assigned crane activities, evaluate them and document successful completion of the evaluations. 

On Nov. 5, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued guidance on how to comply with crane operator certification requirements until OSHA’s new final rule on operator certification and qualification becomes effective. OSHA also made available a pre-publication version of the final rule on its website.

On Oct. 17, the Trump Administration released its Fall 2018 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to publish through the end of the year and in 2019.

On Sept. 28, ABC submitted comments to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on its recent proposal to remove certain provisions of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule, officially titled Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. ABC also commented as a member of the Coalition for Workplace Safety.

On July 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking titled Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. According to OSHA, the proposal seeks to better protect personally identifiable information or data that could be re-identified with a particular individual by removing provisions of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule.