The March 2 deadline for certain employers to electronically report their 2018 300A Form information is just around the corner.
Keep in mind that only certain employers are covered by this requirement.
Employers who’ve had 250 or more employees any time during the previous calendar year are required to submit their 300A Form information electronically by March 2, 2019, and OSHA requires employers with 20 to 249 employees in certain high-risk industries to submit their information electronically by the deadline as well.
Covered employers should only submit information from Form 300A, which is also known as the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. A final rule amending the OSHA recordkeeping regulation removed the requirement to electronically submit information from forms 300 and 301.
However, OSHA warns that a requirement to keep and maintain forms 300, 300A and 301 for five years was not changed by the final rule.
Who isn’t covered by the requirement?
Employers don’t have to send their information to OSHA if:
- peak employment during the previous calendar year was 19 people or fewer, regardless of industry;
- it falls under one of OSHA’s partially exempt industries, regardless of its size; or
- peak employment was between 20 and 249 employees during the previous calendar year and the employer isn’t in one of the listed high-risk industries.
Also, some State Plan states, such as those in Maryland, Wyoming and Washington, haven’t adopted the rule yet. OSHA recommends employers contact their State Plan office with questions regarding their obligation to submit injury and illness information.
Submission options
OSHA offers three options for electronic data submission on its Injury Tracking Application:
- Manual entry into a web form.
- Upload a CSV file, which allows for processing multiple establishments at once.
- Users with automated recordkeeping systems can transmit data via an API (application programming interface).
Employers submitting data for one or just a “small handful of establishments” will have an easier time using the web forms instead of creating and uploading a CSV file, according to OSHA.
New users just have to click on the “Create Establishment” button and fill out two web forms for each establishment. Returning users need only click on “View Establishment List,” select the establishment and provide the new 300A summary data.
More information on the requirement and how to submit information from the 300A form can be found at www.osha.gov/injuryreporting.