OSHA Recordkeeping Handbook - Msabc.net

workers’ compensation claim. See EEOCEnforcement Guidance: Workers’ Compensationand the ADA, 5 (September 3, 1996). Therefore, it isnot clear that the ADA applies to the OSHA injuryand illness records.Even assuming that the OSHA injury and illnessrecords fall within the literal scope of the ADA’sconfidentiality provisions, it does not follow that aconflict arises. The ADA states that “nothing in thisAct shall be construed to invalidate or limit theremedies, rights, and procedures of any Federallaw. * * *” 29 U.S.C. 12201(b). In enacting the ADA,Congress was aware that other federal standardsimposed requirements for testing an employee’shealth, and for disseminating information about anemployee’s medical condition or history, determinedto be necessary to preserve the health andsafety of employees and the public. See H.R. Rep.No. 101-485 pt. 2, 101st Cong., 2d Sess. 74-75(1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 356, 357 (noting,e.g., medical surveillance requirements of standardspromulgated under OSH Act and FederalMine Safety and Health Act, and stating “[t]heCommittee does not intend for [the ADA] to overrideany medical standard or requirement establishedby Federal * * * law * * * that is job-relatedand consistent with business necessity”). See also29 CFR part 1630 App. p. 356. The ADA recognizesthe primacy of federal safety and health regulations;therefore such regulations, including mandatoryOSHA recordkeeping requirements, pose noconflict with the ADA. Cf. Albertsons, Inc. v.Kirkingburg, 527 U.S. 555, (1999) (“When Congressenacted the ADA, it recognized that federal safetyand health rules would limit application of the ADAas a matter of law.”)The EEOC, the agency responsible for administeringthe ADA, has recognized both in the implementingregulations at 29 CFR part 1630, and ininterpretive guidelines, that the ADA yields to therequirements of other federal safety and healthstandards. The implementing regulation codified at29 CFR 1630.15(e) explicitly states that an employer’scompliance with another federal law or regulationmay be a defense to a charge of violating theADA:(e) Conflict with other Federal laws. It may be adefense to a charge of discrimination under thispart that a challenged action is required or necessitatedby another Federal law or regulation, or thatanother Federal law or regulation prohibits anaction (including the provision of a particular reasonableaccommodation) that would otherwise berequired by this part.Interpretive guidance provided by the EEOCfurther underscores this point. The 1992 TechnicalAssistance Manual on Title I of the ADA states asfollows:4.6 Health and Safety Requirements of OtherFederal or State LawsThe ADA recognizes employers’ obligations tocomply with requirements of other laws that establishhealth and safety standards. However, the[ADA] gives greater weight to Federal than to stateor local law.1. Federal Laws and RegulationsThe ADA does not override health and safetyrequirements established under other Federal laws.If a standard is required by another Federal law, anemployer must comply with it and does not haveto show that the standard is job related and consistentwith business necessity (emphasis added).U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,A Technical Assistance Manual on the EmploymentProvisions (Title I) of the Americans WithDisabilities Act, IV-16 (1992) (Technical AssistanceManual). The Technical Assistance Manual alsostates that, while medical-related information aboutemployees must generally be kept confidential, anexception applies where “[o]ther Federal laws andregulations * * * require disclosure of relevantmedical information.” Assistance Manual at VI-12.See also Assistance Manual at VI-14-15 (actionstaken by employers to comply with requirementsimposed under the OSH Act are job related andconsistent with business necessity). For these reasons,OSHA does not believe that the mandatoryemployee access provisions of the final recordkeepingrule conflict with the provisions of theADA.Times Allowed To Provide Records...Under the final rule, an employer must provide acopy of the 300 Log to an employee, former employee,personal representative or authorized employeerepresentative on the business day following the dayon which an oral or written request for records isreceived. Likewise, when an employee, formeremployee or personal representative asks for copiesof the 301 form for an injury or illness to that§1904.35OSHA RECORDKEEPINGHANDBOOK151