Be Ready: 300A Data May Trigger Inspections Under OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting Program

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") recently announced in its Site-Specific Targeting 2016 Program ("SST-16") that it will use previously filed OSHA 300A data for the calendar year ("CY") 2016 to "target high injury rate establishments in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors for inspection." Construction worksites are excluded from this program.

As we previously reported in 2016, OSHA issued a new recordkeeping rule requiring establishments with (a) 250 or more employees, and (b) 20 or more employees in high-risk industries to electronically submit OSHA 300A data. After an enforcement effective date delay, those employers were required to submit their OSHA Form 300A data for CY 2016 by December 15, 2017. The deadline for CY 2017 was July 1, 2018. For future years, establishments subject to the OSHA 300A requirement must submit the OSHA 300A data by March 2 of every year.

Under SST-16, OSHA has targeted three types of establishments for inspections: (i) establishments with elevated Days Away, Restricted or Transferred ("DART") rates as compared to their industries; (ii) establishments who failed to submit the required OSHA 300A data; and (iii) establishments with DART rates lower than their peer industry rates in order to verify that the establishments submitted accurate OSHA 300A data.

SST-16 indicates the three types of establishments are to be randomly selected for the inspections, and the inspections will be "comprehensive in scope." As such, the inspections will not be limited to recordkeeping items or specific hazards related to elevated DART rates, and there is the potential for OSHA to try to turn the inspection into a "wall-to-wall" inspection of an entire facility.

Employers subject to the OSHA 300A submission requirements should be aware that they may be subject to comprehensive inspections in the future. We recommend that such employers take the following steps to limit potential exposure for any future OSHA inspection:

• Confirm whether your establishment is subject to the OSHA recordkeeping submission requirement, and, if so, whether your establishment submitted the required OSHA 300A data.
• Analyze the establishment's DART rate to determine whether it is above or below the comparable industry rate. If below, audit the data to ensure it is accurate.
• Audit the injury and illness logs to determine whether any particular hazards have contributed to the increased DART rate, and, if so, take appropriate action to abate those hazards.
• Evaluate the establishment's safety programs to ensure they appropriately address the establishment's hazards and OSHA regulations.

If you have questions about OSHA’s recordkeeping regulations or how to prepare for and manage an OSHA inspection, please contact

• Kerry Mohan at (608) 283-2648/ kerry.mohan@quarles.com,
• Fred Gants at (608) 283-2618/ fred.gants@quarles.com,

or your Quarles & Brady attorney. Access more information about OSHA here.