Complying with OSHA’s “New”
Anti-Retaliation Provisions
By Jennifer Jaskolka, Jim Goh, and LaLonnie Gray The New Year — a season for resolutions and hitting the “refresh”
button. It is no different for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which issued
considerable revisions to its anti-retaliation policies last year that will appreciably affect employers in 2017.
Beginning January 1, 2017, employers became subject to a new electronic injury recordkeeping rule that
includes anti-retaliation provisions that create employer obligations and prohibitions related to internal
employee injury reporting procedures. It also expands OSHA’s enforcement authority by introducing an
enigmatic new set of anti-retaliation provisions addressed more thoroughly below. Particularly controversial
is the impact of OSHA’s new rule on policies related to post-injury drug testing and safety incentive
programs. Because US employers may face citations and hefty fines for violations of OSHA standards, it
is imperative that employers adopt a renewed commitment to understanding and complying with the new
requirements mandated by OSHA.
