WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01), a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, joined a bicameral group of lawmakers to introduce the “Accurate Workplace Injury & Illness Records Restoration Act.” This legislation would reinstate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recordkeeping rule that was overturned by a Resolution of Disapproval (H.J. Res. 83) under the Congressional Review Act and signed into law by President Trump on April 3, 2017.

By overturning the OSHA recordkeeping rule, Congress created a safe harbor for employers to underreport work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. Accurate records are essential to identifying and correcting workplace hazards which cause serious injuries. When the patterns of injuries and illnesses are not reported, they are masked from workers and OSHA, and corrective actions needed to save a life or a limb will not be taken. 

More specifically, the bill would reinstate OSHA’s authority to require employers to make and maintain accurate workplace injury records as an ongoing obligation. It also enables OSHA to issue a citation in those cases where the violation of the recordkeeping requirements continues for more than six months from the date the employer should have first recorded the injury.

The Accurate Workplace Injury & Illness Records Restoration Act would:

1)      Amend the six-month statute of limitations in the OSHA Act so that the six-month clock starts running on the date OSHA identifies a continuing violation, instead of on the first date that the violation occurs.

2)      Require OSHA to issue a new regulation within 180 days of enactment which clarifies that an employer’s obligation to make and maintain accurate injury and illness records is a continuing obligation, and that such duty does not expire solely because the employer fails to create the necessary records when first required to do so.

3)      Provide specific authorization for the rule, pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

This legislation creates no new employer recordkeeping or reporting obligations; it clarifies OSHA’s authority to enforce longstanding OSHA requirements.

BILL SPONSORS & CO-SPONSORS: 

Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Al Franken (D-MN).

Reps. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Mark Takano (CA-41), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Jared Polis (CO-02), Darren Soto (FL-09), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Gregorio Sablan (MP-AL), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Carol Shea Porter (NH-01), Gene Green (TX-29), Pete Visclosky (IN-01) and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). 

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS:

American Industrial Hygiene Association, AFL-CIO, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, National Employment Law Project and Public Citizen

MORE INFORMATION:

To read the fact sheet, click here.

To read the bill, click here.

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Contact: Ally Kehoe, Communications Director
ally.kehoe@mail.house.gov