JDSupra (04/17/2012)

An April 6 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit gives the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration just six months to cite employers for record-keeping violations from the date the employer neglected to record an injury or illness in the OSHA 300 log, overruling the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s 2011 decision in Secretary of Labor v. AKM LLC d/b/a Volks Constructors, in which every day the OSHA 300 log was inaccurate constituted a continuing violation. Employers should record the illness or injury within seven calendar days, and from that date, OSHA has only six months to issue a citation for record-keeping violations. The ruling shortens the time during which employers can be cited.