Last December, OSHA released its final rule clarifying an employer's continuing obligation to make and maintain accurate injury and illness records.
The amendments in the final rule didn't add any new compliance obligations or require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for which records are not already required. However, the final rule did extend the statute of limitations for which the agency can issue citations for recording, keeping violations to five years and six months, as opposed to just six months that most employers interpreted previously. OSHA maintained that it can cite employers for recordkeeping violations for up to six months after the five-year retention period expires, not just six months after the initial failure to record (first day of occurrence, or injury), without running afoul of the OSH Act's statute of limitations.
The rule was the result of the AKM LLC v. Secretary of Labor (Volks) decision in 2012, a case decided against OSHA. In that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that OSHA citations for recordkeeping violations must be issued within six months of the first day of an alleged failure to record the injury or illness; a citation issued after the six-month period is barred. OSHA had subsequently issued its final rule to go against the D.C. Circuit ruling.
