Source: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C.
OSHA, in partnership with the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, announced a series of three teleconferences to reach out to the small business community for input on OSHA’s proposal to add a column for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) on employer injury and illness logs. This proposal would require those employers already mandated to keep injury and illness records to add the step of checking a column when recording work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The first teleconference will be Monday, April 11 at 1:30pm (EDT), the second and third on April 12 at 9am and 1:30pm (EDT).
Participants can provide input about their experiences in recording work-related MSDs and how they believe the proposed rule would impact them. The proposed rule only covers MSDs that employers are already required to record under the longstanding OSHA rule on recordkeeping. Prior to 2001, OSHA’s injury and illness logs contained a column for repetitive trauma disorders that included hearing loss and many kinds of MSDs. In 2001, OSHA proposed separating hearing loss and MSDs into two columns, but the MSD column was deleted in 2003 before the provision became effective. OSHA’s proposal would restore the MSD column to the Form 300.
Businesses seeking to participate in the teleconferences should contact Regina Powers at [email protected], and indicate target time. Additional information on the proposed rule can be obtained from Robert Burt, director of OSHA’s Office of Regulatory Analysis, 202/693-1952, or Bruce Lundegren, assistant chief counsel for SBA Advocacy, 202.205-6144, or at www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/MSD_Column_Meeting_General_Info.html.