For the last several years, OSHA has expressed concerns regarding a host of employer practices it believes may result in underreporting of injuries and illnesses as depicted by several recent high-profile cases of alleged employer underreporting. Heightening OSHA’s interest is the position taken by some stakeholders that the annual injury and illness statistics published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) underreports the true number of workplace injuries and illnesses due, in part, to employer incentive programs that discourage employees from reporting injuries and illnesses. The Agency has stated it will issue a final rule in the fall of 2015 that may make certain safety incentive programs illegal under OSHA standards and, just recently, OSHA sent such a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for review. If the Agency does issue this final rule, it may change the landscape for many employers who have had success with such programs in the past.

To read the full article, which I wrote for Wolters Kluwer’s Employment Law Daily, click here.