Electronic Submission of OSHA Form 300A

The time for completing and electronically submitting your OSHA forms is here! OSHA forms must be posted from February 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021 in a place where employees can view them - breakrooms, time clock stations, etc. OSHA forms must be electronically uploaded for qualifying employers no later than March 2, 2021.

Now, it’s time to determine if you, as an employer, are required to submit your OSHA Form 300A electronically. What are the criteria for electronic submission? Under the current rule, annual electronic submission of the OSHA Form 300A Summary is required for establishments with 250 or more employees at any point during the previous calendar year that is required to keep OSHA records. A key point here is to understand the definition of an establishment. OSHA defines an establishment as a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. For more information on the definition of establishment, check out OSHA's website here. 

OSHA’s recordkeeping regulations provide a partial exemption for employers with 10 or fewer employees, unless of course you are one of the lucky few who receive a letter from the Bureau of Labor Statistics informing you in writing that you must keep records. More information on the partial exemption can be found here.

Certain employers are also required to submit records electronically for establishments with 20 or more employees but fewer than 250 employees in certain designated industries. 29 CFR 1904.41 App A  is where the list of industries, by NAICS code, resides that fall under this requirement.

The OSHA electronic recordkeeping requirement is determined solely by an establishment assigned NAICS code. How do you determine the correct NAICS code to use? NAICS codes are assigned from information the business establishment provided on administrative, surveys, or census reports when a company applied for the Employer Identification Number (EIN). The U.S. Census Bureau assigns one NAICS code to each establishment based on the activity that generates the most revenue for the establishment. If this information has been “lost in translation” through the course of your business activities, you can determine the correct NAICS code for your business. NAICS was designed and documented to allow business establishment to self-code.  Search tools for this can be found at NAICS Association.

Once you have determined that your business is required to submit OSHA forms electronically you will need to establish an Injury Tracking Application (ITA) account. FAQs about ITA, how to access previously established accounts, and creating multiple logins can be found on that site.

An additional item to keep in mind is determining how many sets of OSHA logs a business must keep. The basic requirement from OSHA is you must keep a separate OSHA 300 log for each establishment that is expected to be in operation for one year or longer and will have over 10 employees at any point during that calendar year. A letter of interpretation issued by OSHA in 2015 on this topic is available on their website. If the worksite is a temporary location, recordkeeping rules still apply but recordable injuries would be recorded on an OSHA 300 log housed at one of the company’s main establishments.

With OSHA regulations being vast and ever-changing it can be difficult to keep up with each. Your local AssuredPartners Energy professional is here to help you navigate through the difficult necessary steps. Contact AssuredPartners today to see how we can help.