Loren Sweatt

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor has extended to Dec. 15 the deadline by which employers must electronically report 2016 injury and illness data from Form 300A through its Injury Tracking Application website.

OSHA said Wednesday that the two-week delay was needed to allow affected employers more time to become familiar with the new system, which was launched Aug. 1. Originally, Form 300A electronic submissions for 2016 were to begin July 1, but OSHA pushed the deadline to Dec. 1 before extending it.

Under the final rule titled “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” announced in May 2016 under the Obama administration, “high-hazard” industries that have 250 or more employees are required to submit to OSHA injury and illness information on OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301.

Some businesses with 20 to 249 employees are required to submit information from Form 300A only. Among those affected industries identified in Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 1904 of the rule are community care facilities for the elderly (NAICS 6233), other residential care facilities (NAICS 6239) and nursing care facilities (NAICS 6231).

The Dec. 15 filing deadline applies only to Form 300A, according to OSHA. Current deadlines call for affected employers with 250 or more employees to submit information from all completed 2017 forms (300A, 300 and 301) by July 1 and affected employers with 20 to 249 employees also to submit information from the completed 2017 Form 300A by July 1. Beginning in 2019, all affected employers are scheduled to submit all forms by March 2.

OSHA also announced Wednesday, however, that it intends to reconsider, revise or remove portions of the final rule next year.