States appeal OSHA record-keeping rollback

Six states who challenged the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rollback of its electronic record-keeping rule filed an appeal Friday to a judge’s decision that the Trump administration’s action removing the requirement was lawful.

State of New Jersey v. R. Alexander Acosta, filed in March 2019, the states of Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York challenged the “illegal and unjustified” actions of the Trump administration to reverse a 2016 rule that required companies with 250 or more to publicly report workplace injuries and illnesses.

In July 2018, OSHA proposed rescinding the requirement, stating that the change was over concerns about the agency’s ability to safeguard the personal information of injured workers. In 2019, the agency published its final rule removing the Obama administration reporting requirements. 

On Jan. 11, Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the challenge by the states. The states argued that OSHA “failed to provide the sufficient justification” for its decision to remove the rule required under the Administrative Procedure Act and have asked the court to vacate and permanently enjoin the application of the 2019 final rule.