WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, along with Reps. Ellzey (R-TX) and Bean (R-FL), wrote to Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, and Assistant Secretary of Labor, Douglas Parker, inquiring about a new rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that governs tracking workplace injuries and illnesses.

This letter builds on the House Committee on Small Business’ work to ensure federal agencies adhere to the Regulatory Flexibility Act and Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act to protect small businesses from burdensome regulations and rulemaking.

Read the full letter here.

Read excerpts from the letter below:

“The House Committee on Small Business (the Committee) writes to inquire about the recent rule change to tracking workplace injuries and illnesses. The rule requires employers with more than 250 employees and employers with between 20 and 249 employees in certain industries to electronically report data on workplace injuries and illnesses. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) definition of “certain industries” broadly encompasses 66 industries. It appears that OSHA may not have properly considered small entities during this rulemaking process.

“OSHA estimates that the cost of the rule will be $7.7 million annually: $7.1 million cost to the private sector to “become familiar with the rule’s requirements, update software, and submit forms electronically,” and $0.6 million cost to the government. Broken down by impacted business, OSHA estimates that each business will incur a cost of $136 per year. While this may seem like a marginal cost at first glance it is unclear how OSHA determined this figure and some comments to the rule details why the impact may be greater than estimated.”

Background:

Signatories include Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX), Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX), and Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL).

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