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6434 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Rules and RegulationsDEPARTMENT OF LABOROccupational Safety and HealthAdministration29 CFR Part 1904[Docket No. R–02]RIN 1218–AB24Reporting Occupational Injury andIllness Data to OSHA; Final RuleAGENCY: Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA), U.S.Department of Labor.ACTION: Final rule.SUMMARY: This final rule amends 29CFR Part 1904 by adding section1904.17. Section 1904.17 requiresemployers to report information toOSHA contained in records thatemployers are required to create andmaintain pursuant to Part 1904, and thenumber of workers they employed andhours their employees worked duringdesignated periods.Section 1904.17 will clarify OSHA’sauthority to collect establishmentspecificdata by mail for use in agencyself-evaluation, deployment of agencyresources, periodic reassessment ofexisting regulations and standards, andrulemaking.Section 1904.17 was proposed (assection 1904.13) as part of acomprehensive proposal to revise Part1904. 61 FR 4030 (Feb. 2, 1996). OSHAhas determined, however, to take finalagency action with respect to section1904.17 at this time, and to take finalaction on the remaining Part 1904issues, including other records accessissues, at a later date.DATES: This final regulation will becomeeffective on March 13, 1997. However,affected parties do not have to complywith the information collectionrequirements until the Departmentpublishes in the Federal Register thecontrol numbers assigned by the Officeof Management and Budget (OMB) tothese information collectionrequirements. Publication of the controlnumbers notifies the public that OMBhas approved these informationcollection requirements under thePaperwork Reduction Act of 1995.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Bonne Friedman, U.S. Department ofLabor, Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration, Office of Informationand Consumer Affairs, Room N–3647,200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,Washington, DC 20210, phone (202)219–8148. For electronic copies ofdocuments, contact the Labor NewsBulletin Board at (202) 219–4784, orOSHA’s WebPage on the Internet athttp://www.osha.gov/. For newsreleases, fact sheets, and other shortdocuments, contact OSHA FAX at (900)555–3400 at $1.50 per minute.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:I. BackgroundIn 1971, OSHA issued theoccupational injury and illnessrecording and reporting regulation, 29CFR Part 1904. Part 1904 includesregulations pertaining to criteria fordetermining whether an occupationalinjury or illness should be recorded, andprovisions that require employers togive employees and OSHA access tosuch records. It also provides forcollection by the Bureau of LaborStatistics (BLS) of data to be used in anoccupational injury and illnessstatistical program administered by BLS.1904.20, 1904.21, and 1904.22.In 1990, the Secretary of Labortransferred some of BLS’s statisticgatheringfunctions to OSHA. 55 FR9033 (Mar. 9, 1990). BLS retainsresponsibility for conducting its AnnualSurvey of Occupational Injuries andIllnesses and will continue to issue datathat is aggregated by SIC group. ButOSHA will also be responsible foradministering a national recordkeepingsystem for occupational injuries andillnesses whose data will be sitespecific.OSHA’s February 1996 proposal torevise Part 1904 sought, among otherthings, to reflect OSHA’s new statisticsgatheringresponsibilities. OSHAproposed to replace sections 1904.20,1904.21, and 1904.22 with a singlereporting provision at 1904.13, whichwould apply to both BLS and OSHAcollections of information by mail orother remote transmittal.OSHA received 449 written commentsand held six days of public meetings.Approximately 124 comments and twooral presentations specifically addressedproposed section 1904.13.On further consideration, OSHAdetermined that BLS and OSHA needseparate provisions for collection of databy mail. Thus, a single provisionapplicable to both agencies would notbe appropriate, and a new provisionspecifically addressed to OSHAreporting requirements and proceduresshould be developed. OSHA furtherdetermined to take final action onproposed 1904.13 at this time, and totake final action with respect to theremainder of the proposed revisions ofPart 1904 at a later date.This final rule revises the proposedsection 1904.13 and renumbers it assection 1904.17, the next availablenumber in Part 1904. This final ruledoes not modify or delete the existingregulations at 1904.13, 1904.20,1904.21, or 1904.22.II. Explanation of the Final RuleOSHA has long had in effect rulespertaining to OSHA access to certaininformation. Section 1904.7 requiresemployers ‘‘to provide, upon request,records provided for in §§ 1904.2,1904.4, and 1904.5 [OSHA-requiredinjury and illness logs and forms] forinspection and copying by anyrepresentative of the Secretary of Labor.* * *’’ Section 1910.1020 requiresemployers to give OSHA and employeesthe right and opportunity to examineand copy exposure and medical records.Some standards contain requirementsfor OSHA and employee access toexposure and monitoring data requiredto be created and maintained by thoseparticular standards. E.g., 29 CFR1910.1001(m)(5)(I) and (ii) (requiringthat OSHA and employee be givenaccess to asbestos exposure monitoringand medical surveillance records).Section 1904.17 establishes aprocedural mechanism for conduct of anannual survey of ten or more employersby mail or other remote transmittal.Information covered by section 1904.17is information contained in recordsrequired to be created and maintainedpursuant to Part 1904, the number ofworkers the respondent employed andthe number of hours worked by itsemployees during designated periods.The rule also specifies that both therequest and the response will be madeby mail or other remote transmittal.Thus, it is more limited than existingrecords-access provisions that use termssuch as ‘‘permit access to’’ or ‘‘makeavailable’’ and therefore permit OSHAto collect information by on-site recordreviews as well as via mail response.The mail-in provision also permitsOSHA to coordinate its annual surveywith the BLS annual survey. Inconducting its 1995 and 1996 annualsurveys (1995 data was collected in1996, 1996 data will be collected in1997) OSHA provided employers with acarbon-pack form that the employercould complete, separate, and return—one copy to BLS and another to OSHA.OSHA intends to continue this practiceor an equivalent means of avoidingduplicate reporting burdens foremployers.The requests for data reports may bemade directly by OSHA, or may be sentto employers by a designee of theAgency, such as a state governmentalagency, a government contractor, oranother Federal agency such as theNational Institute for Occupational