U.S. Department of Labor | March 17, 2016
Most employers
cooperated with OSHA to fix hazards, but some tried to hide them
WASHINGTON – In the first
year of a new reporting requirement, employers notified the U.S. Department of
Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
of more than 10,000 severe work-related injuries, creating the opportunity for the
agency to work with employers to eliminate hazards and protect other workers.
Since
Jan. 1, 2015, employers have been required to report any severe work-related
injury – defined as a hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye – within 24
hours. The requirement that an employer report a workplace fatality within
eight hours remains in force.
In
the first full year of the program, employers reported 10,388 severe injuries,
including 7,636 hospitalizations and 2,644 amputations. In a majority of
those cases, OSHA responded by working with the employer to identify and
eliminate hazards, rather than conducting a worksite inspection.
“In
case after case, the prompt reporting of worker injuries has created
opportunities for us to work with employers we wouldn’t have had contact with
otherwise,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health David Michaels, who authored the report. “The result is safer workplaces
for thousands of workers.”
OSHA
found some employers exceeded the agency’s requirements to protect workers from
future incidents. Unfortunately, a few responded with callous disregard. One
manufacturer tried to hide an entire room full of machinery from OSHA
inspectors.
The
evaluation of 2015 results, which breaks out the top 25 reporting industries,
notes that by instituting the requirement, the agency can better target
resources where needed, and engage employers in high-hazard industries to
identify and eliminate hazards. The evaluation finds the reporting requirement is
meeting both goals.
“OSHA
will continue to evaluate the program and make changes to improve its
effectiveness,” Dr. Michaels wrote in the report. “We are also seeking new ways
to make sure that small employers know about their reporting obligations and
the resources available to them.”
The
full report is available here. To learn more about how to
report injuries, please see www.osha.gov/report.html.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Brian
Hawthorne, 202-693-4681, hawthorne.brian.a@dol.gov Mandy
McClure, 202-693-4672, mcclure.amanda.c@dol.gov
Release Number: 16-506-NAT
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