If you called up your top five clients today and asked them if they felt comfortable with the state of their OSHA logs right now, what do you think they would say?
Here’s another question: Are they familiar with the significant changes OSHA made to its electronic recordkeeping rules that went into effect in 2024?
If your clients can’t confidently answer yes to both questions, you have a perfect opportunity to help your clients meet a critical compliance deadline and avoid significant OSHA penalties. Here’s what you (and your clients) need to know.
The March 2 Deadline is More Complex Now
Your clients should (hopefully) be familiar with the annual March 2 requirement for employers to electronically submit OSHA log data. However, they may not know that OSHA implemented significant changes to the submission guidelines that went into effect in 2024.
Highlights of the rule change include:
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- Many employers with 100+ employees will be required to submit even more OSHA data (Forms 300 and 301, in addition to the 300A summary)
- OSHA is reaffirming its commitment to enforcement of the rule, leaving noncompliant companies open to inspections and significant fines
Your clients should also be aware that OSHA will publish the collected data on a public website, opening their injury data to the scrutiny of regulators, investors, workers, and competitors. For this reason, it is extremely important that employers not accidentally over-report injury data in an effort to ensure compliance, as that information could have other ramifications for the business.
How Can You Help Clients Prepare?
Start talking to your clients right away about the changes to OSHA’s recordkeeping rule.
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- Start the conversation with the questions at the beginning of this article. Understand their current level of knowledge and confidence around OSHA recordkeeping and the new rules.
- Send them this guidebook as a resource for everything they need to know, including what has changed and how to comply.
- Offer to help by auditing their OSHA logs and ensuring everything is accurate and not under- or over-reported. (This is a great time to check in with the client’s overall safety program as well, especially if you see any red flags in their injury data.)
This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with your clients and help with a huge pain point (while at the same time keeping any lurking competitors at bay who may try to cast doubt on your service and expertise).
Don’t Forget Your Prospects!
As you take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen relationships and trust with your clients, don’t forget to target other agents who aren’t as proactive as you.
Use the guidebook to identify top prospects in your area who are subject to the OSHA recordkeeping rule changes and use the updated regulations as a conversation starter. If their agent hasn’t educated them yet, it’s the perfect way to deliver huge value to a prospective client and begin driving a wedge between them and their incumbent agent.
