The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a notice a few days ago requiring “establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records, and establishments with 20-249 employees that are classified in certain industries with historically high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses” to provide their 2017 Form 300A information by July 1. Common industries in the Chinese community that are considered high-risk may include industries such as construction, manufacturing, supermarket/retail, wholesale, truck transportation, and more. This also means that reports must be submitted for these industries.
**Please note. If your business has more than one branch, injuries must be calculated separately by branch, and one form should be submitted per branch. Regulations for each branch may vary. Please refer to the FAQ section on the OSHA website for more details and regulations.
To submit your form, or for more details regarding Form 300A, check out the OSHA website: https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/index.html
With this new regulation, companies begin to take more initiative in submitting their annual work injury reports. Although OSHA does not mention any fines for not submitting the form on time, expert business risk consultants at KCAL Insurance remind business owners to submit their forms on time because with their expertise and knowing how OSHA is, large fines are common. Many businesses have already had to stop production and sales due to failure of submitting their forms on time. Contact your agent responsible for your workers’ compensation insurance and ask for a document known as “Loss Run” which is a record of the 2017 workers’ compensation claims record. This document can help you fill out Form 300A. If you have any questions, feel free to contact KCAL’s commercial insurance department!
What is OSHA? United States Congress established OSHA under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which was formed in 1970. Its mission is to “assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.” Employers are required to report all severe work-related injuries (fractures, deaths, etc.) to OSHA.