As the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues to push for employers to report workplace injuries and illnesses through the new online portal, it has issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in an effort to protect personally identifiable information.

According to Wesley Wheeler, national director of safety for the National Electrical Contractors Association, one of the primary reasons many have been leery of these reporting requirements is the fear of hackers or other third parties accessing this personal information once submitted to OSHA.

The new NPRM, announced on July 27, eliminates the need to electronically submit information from Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301, Injury and Illness Incident Report, for workplaces with 250-plus employees. This leaves only Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, as a form that must be submitted through OSHA’s online portal.

According to the July 27 release, “OSHA believes this proposal maintains safety and health protections for workers, protects privacy and reduces the burdens of complying with the current rule.”

While this rulemaking is underway, OSHA is not accepting data for Forms 300 or 301 and is not enforcing deadlines for these forms. However, the deadline for submitting Form 300A data from calendar year 2017 was July 1. The electronic portal is still accepting this data, but it will be marked late.

For more on the current state of OSHA’s rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses, visit osha.gov/recordkeeping/finalrule.