The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finalized a rule that will allow the public to know who the United States’ most hazardous employers are.
The regulation, which would take effect in next year, would force firms that already report on-the-job injuries to electronically submit those filings. The agency would then publish information from those submissions on its website.
“Currently, employers cannot compare their injury experience with other businesses in their industry; they can only compare their experience with their industry as a whole,” OSHA has said, in defense of the rule.
“Access to establishment-specific data will enable employers to benchmark their safety and health performance against industry leaders, encouraging them to improve their safety programs,” it added.
The rule, which was finalized Wednesday, will only impact high-risk businesses with at least 250 employees. Some industries with the highest rate of job-related injuries include construction, transportation and warehousing, agriculture, and manufacturing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Lobbyists have decried the proposal. The National Association of Manufacturers accused OSHA of “publicly shaming” companies, according to The Hill.
The agency head, David Michaels, sees things differently.
“More attention to safety will save the lives and limbs of many workers,” he said.
According to OSHA, in 2014, the most recent year with publicly-available data, there were more than 13 workplace fatalities every day in the US.
