OSHA Unveils 2023 Injury and Illness Statistics Report

OSHA NEWS – April, 24, 2024 – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration published its 2023 injury and illness data. The data was collected under the agency's new Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses regulation, which was published July 2023.

The data reportedly includes specific information submitted by more than 375,000 establishments on OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. It also includes individual injuries and illnesses for employers with 100 or more employees in select high-hazard industries.

Additionally, OSHA has posted partial data from more than 850,000 OSHA Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses and Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report records.

“Providing access to injury and illness data will help identify unsafe conditions and workplace hazards that may cause occupational injuries and illnesses. Recognizing these hazards will help identify ways to control or prevent them and reduce injuries and illnesses,” writes the administration.

“This information will improve research on the occurrence, prevention and control of workplace hazards, injuries and illness types.”

The full list of data can be downloaded here.

New Data Requirements

In July, the DOL announced the final rule to require certain employers in designated high-hazard industries to electronically submit injury and illness information to OSHA.

According to the release, the new rule will include the following submission requirements:

• Establishments with 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries must electronically submit information from their Form 300-Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301-Injury and Illness Incident Report to OSHA once a year. These submissions are in addition to submission of Form 300A-Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses; and
• To improve data quality, establishments are required to include their legal company name when making electronic submissions to OSHA from their injury and illness records.

Additionally, OSHA intends to publish some of the data collected on its website to allow employers, employees, potential employees, employee representatives, current and potential customers, researchers and the general public to use information about a company's workplace safety and health record to make informed decisions.

OSHA says that it believes that providing public access to the data will ultimately reduce occupational injuries and illnesses.

The final rule reportedly retains the current requirements for electronic submission of information from Form 300A from establishments with 20-249 employees in certain high-hazard industries, as well as from establishments with 250 or more employees in industries that must routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records.

The final rule took effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

The announcement followed proposed amendments announced in March 2022 to regulations for requiring specific establishments in certain high-hazard industries to electronically submit information from their Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Injury and Illness Incident Report.

2023 Top 10 Violation List

At the beginning of December, OSHA unveiled its annual top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2023.

The preliminary data was presented by OSHA Region 6 Administrator Eric Harbin during the 2023 National Safety Council 2023 Safety Congress and Expo. The fiscal year ended on Sept. 30.

Fall Protection – General Requirements remains at the top of the list for the 13th year in a row, followed by Hazard Communication and Ladders once again.

The Top 10 most frequently cited standards for FY 2023 are:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 7,271 violations;
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,213;
3. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,978;
4. Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,859;
5. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,561;
6. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,554;
7. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,481;
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 2,112;
9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 2,074; and
10. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,644.

A more detailed analysis of the Top 10 violations for 2023 was published in Safety+Health magazine, a National Safety Council publication.

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