Under the proposed data collection system, OSHA would (1) identify industries among the most hazardous based on their injury and illness rates as reported by the BLS annual survey of occupational injuries and illnesses and (2) survey establishments in these industries to collect establishment-specific injury and illness data. OSHA Considered Industrywide Injury and Illness Data and Establishment Size in Designing Its Data Collection Surveys

OSHA used a two-stage process for selecting industries and establishments to include in its data collection surveys. First, OSHA selected the industries for its surveys using mainly industrywide data on injuries and illnesses. With about $2.6 million available annually to fund the surveys in 1996, 1997, and 1998, OSHA determined it could survey up to 80,000 establishments each year. OSHA also considered work-related fatalities when selecting industries to survey. Because OSHA already requires the establishments to compile this information, employers are not required to develop new data sets. The first part of the summary section requests the average annual number of employees and the total number of hours that employees worked during the previous calendar year. The second part of the form requests the following information from the total line of the log and summary of occupational injuries and illnesses maintained by each establishment: total injuries, including the number of deaths as a result of injury, injuries with days away from work or restricted workdays or both, total days away from work, total days of restricted work activity, and injuries without lost workdays; total illnesses, including deaths as a result of illness, illnesses with days away from work or restricted workdays or both, total days away from work, total days of restricted work activity, and illnesses without lost workdays; and types of illnesses experienced by the workers, including skin diseases or disorders, diseases of the lungs due to dust, respiratory conditions due to toxic agents, poisonings, disorders due to physical agents, disorders associated with repeated trauma, and other occupational illnesses. The intended uses were (1) directing OSHA’s program activities, including the scheduling of establishment inspections under its enforcement program and the targeting of mailings of safety and health information to employers under its nonenforcement programs; (2) monitoring and tracking injury and illness incidents; (3) developing information for promulgating, revising, and evaluating OSHA’s safety and health standards; (4) evaluating the effectiveness of OSHA’s enforcement, training, and voluntary programs; and (5) providing pertinent information to the public. Although OSHA collected establishment-specific injury and illness data during 1996 and 1997, as of April 1998, it had made only limited use of the data. OSHA will use the data to identify the 500 establishments with the highest rates and schedule them for on-site inspections. In addition, OSHA wants to use the establishment-specific injury and illness data to identify employers for participation in its new Cooperative Compliance Program (CCP). OSHA used the information it collected in 1997 to develop a list of about 12,500 establishments with the highest LWDII rates—that is, LWDII rates of 7.0 or higher. OSHA Gave Employers No Assurance of Confidentiality as Part of the Data Collection Initiative

OSHA gave no assurances about privacy rights or confidentiality associated with the data collected from employers selected to participate in the data collection survey. Most of the requests OSHA has received and responded to about the data initiative asked for the names and addresses of establishments identified as having LWDII rates high enough to be invited to participate in the CCP. A recorded menu will provide information on how to obtain these lists.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) efforts to collect establishment-specific data on injuries and illnesses.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) with about $2.6 million available annually in 1996, 1997, and 1998 for its data collection surveys, OSHA determined it could survey about 80,000 establishments each year; (2) within that constraint, OSHA used mainly Bureau of Labor Statistics data to select industries with high rates of injuries and illnesses; (3) OSHA used size of establishment as a determining factor for the number of establishments to survey; (4) in addition, OSHA knew some of the industries had high numbers of work-related fatalities; (5) OSHA surveyed establishments in these industries with 60 or more employees in both years; (6) employers surveyed were not required to develop new sets of injury and illness data to respond to OSHA surveys; (7) instead, these employers were already required by OSHA to keep at their establishments records of specific information on work-related injuries and illnesses; (8) OSHA also required surveyed establishments to provide information on employees' total hours worked and on the average number of employees who worked during the year; (9) OSHA planned to use the data collected to better identify establishments with the highest injury and illness rates so that it could more accurately target on-site compliance inspections to establishments with safety and health problems; (10) in addition, OSHA planned to use the data to better target its technical assistance and consultation efforts and to measure its performance under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 in meeting its goals of reducing establishment injuries and illnesses; (11) as of April 1998, however, OSHA had made only limited use of the data collected in its 1996 and 1997 surveys mainly because of two lawsuits; (12) a federal court ordered OSHA to halt implementation of a new program that, using the 1997 survey data, identified specific establishments with the highest lost workday injury and illness rates; (13) employers who declined to participate in this new program would remain on OSHA's list of employers most likely to be inspected; (14) the program has been suspended until the court issues a decision; (15) as a part of its data collection effort, OSHA gave no assurances about privacy or confidentiality when it requested establishment information from employers; and (16) OSHA has received many Freedom of Information Act requests for the names and addresses of the 12,000 establishments with high injury and illness rates that it invited to participate in the new program.