Advocacy group seeks to reinstate OSHA electronic reporting rule

A nonprofit consumer advocacy organization has asked the Biden administration and Occupational Safety and Health Administration to reinstate a workplace injury and illness tracking rule that took effect during the Obama administration.

Washington-based Public Citizen sent a letter to OSHA on Monday, asking that the agency restore provisions of the Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses rule, which would require large employers to electronically submit workplace injury and illness data to OSHA on a regular basis. The rule, which was implemented during the Obama administration, was rolled back by the Trump administration in 2019.

Although President Joe Biden announced in June his intent to reinstate the rule, Public Citizen argues that the timetable for reinstatement is “far too slow.” The group is asking that OSHA restore the rule by Sept. 15 and issue a final rule by March 15, 2022.