[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68782-68783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27366]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1904 and 1952

[Docket No. OSHA-2013-0023]
RIN 1218-AC49


Public Meeting on the Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and 
Illnesses Proposed Rule

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: OSHA invites interested parties to attend an informal public 
meeting on the Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses 
proposed rule. The purpose of the public meeting is to allow interested 
persons to provide oral remarks regarding the proposed rule. The 
proposed rule is a limited rulemaking to amend OSHA's recordkeeping 
regulations to add requirements for the electronic submission of injury 
and illness information employers are already required to keep.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Thursday, January 9, 2014 
from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, 
DC. The deadline to request to attend the meeting as a speaker or an 
observer is Friday, December 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Requests to attend the public meeting: Requests to attend 
the public meeting, identified by docket number OSHA-2013-0023, or 
regulatory information number (RIN) 1218-AC49, as a speaker or 
observer, may be made by any of the methods below.
    a. Electronically: You may submit requests to attend the meeting 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting a 
comment.
    b. Fax: If your request, including attachments, does not exceed 
more than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 
693-1648; or
    c. Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger or courier service: 
You may submit your request to attend the meeting, and any attachments, 
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket Number OSHA-2013-0023, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room N-2655, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number is 
(877) 889-5627). Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger and courier 
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket 
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Public Meeting: The public meeting will be held in the auditorium 
of the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210.
    Requests for special accommodations: Submit requests for special 
accommodations to attend the public meeting to Frank Meilinger, 
Director, OSHA Office of Communications, Room N-3647, U.S. Department 
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: 
(202) 693-1999; email: [email protected].
    Instructions for submitting requests to attend the public meeting: 
All requests to attend the public meeting must include the docket 
number (Docket No. OSHA-2013-0023) or the RIN (1218-AC49) for this 
rulemaking. Because of security-related procedures, submissions by 
regular mail may result in significant delay. Please contact the OSHA 
Docket Office for information about security procedures for making 
submissions by hand delivery, express delivery, and messenger or 
courier service.
    All requests to attend the meeting, including any personal 
information you provide, are placed in the public docket without change 
and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions you about submitting personal information such 
as social security numbers and birthdates. For further information on 
submitting requests to attend, plus additional information on the 
rulemaking process, see Public Participation in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is 
available from the following sources:
    a. Press inquiries: Contact Francis (Frank) Meilinger, Director, 
OSHA Office of Communications, Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 
693-1999; email: [email protected].
    b. General and technical information: Contact Dave Schmidt, 
Director, Office of Statistical Analysis, OSHA Directorate of 
Evaluation and Analysis, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Room N-3507, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-
1886; email: [email protected].
    c. Copies of this Federal Register notice: Electronic copies are 
available at

[[Page 68783]]

http://www.regulations.gov. The Federal Register notice, as well as 
news releases and other relevant information, also are available on the 
OSHA Web page: http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On November 8, 2013, OSHA published the Improve Tracking of 
Workplace Injuries and Illnesses proposed rule [See Vol. 78 FR 67254-
67283] OSHA proposes to amend its recordkeeping regulations to add 
requirements for the electronic submission of injury and illness 
information employers are already required to keep under Part 1904. The 
proposed rule amends 29 CFR 1904.41 to add three new electronic 
reporting requirements. The purpose of the rulemaking is to improve 
workplace safety and health through the collection of useful, 
accessible, establishment-specific injury and illness data to which 
OSHA currently does not have direct, timely, and systematic access. 
With the information acquired through the proposed rule, employers, 
employees, employee representatives, the government, and researchers 
will be better able to identify and abate workplace hazards. For 
additional information on the proposed rule and other ways to submit 
comments, see Vol. 78 FR 67254-67283.

II. Public Participation

    Recordkeeping requirements promulgated under the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) are regulations, not standards. 
Therefore, this rulemaking is governed by the notice and comments 
requirements in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553) 
rather than section 6 of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 655) and 29 CFR part 
1911. Section 6(b)(3) of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(3)) and 29 CFR 
1911.11, both of which state the requirement for OSHA to hold an 
informal public hearing on proposed rules, only apply to promulgating, 
modifying or revoking occupational safety and health standards.
    Section 553 of the APA, which governs this proposal, does not 
require a public hearing; instead, it states that the agency must 
``give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the 
rulemaking through submission of written data, views, or arguments with 
or without opportunity for oral presentation'' (5 U.S.C. 553(c)) 
(emphasis added). To promulgate a proposed regulation, the APA requires 
the agency to provide the terms of the proposed rule or a description 
of these terms, specify the time during which the agency will receive 
comments on the proposal, and give instructions regarding how to 
participate in the rulemaking (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). The APA does not 
specify a minimum period for submitting comments. In accordance with 
the goals of Executive Order 12866, OSHA is providing 90 days for 
public comment (E.O. 12866 section 6(a)(1)).
    Public Meeting: OSHA will hold a public meeting on the proposed 
rule from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 9, 2014 at the U.S. 
Department of Labor in Washington, DC (see ADDRESSES section). If 
necessary, the meeting may be extended to subsequent days. The purpose 
of the public meeting is to allow interested persons to provide oral 
remarks on the proposed rule, which is a limited rulemaking to amend 
its recordkeeping regulations to add requirements for the electronic 
submission of injury and illness information employers are already 
required to keep under Part 1904. Although OSHA is not required to hold 
a public meeting on proposed regulations, the Agency believes that the 
public meeting will help facilitate the development of a clear and 
complete rulemaking record. Consistent with this purpose, OSHA has the 
discretion to limit the time of speakers whose presentation goes beyond 
the scope of the proposed regulation.
    Requests for individuals to attend the meeting must be received by 
Friday, December 13, 2013. The request must provide the following 
information:
     Name, email address, and telephone number of each 
individual who will attend the meeting;
     Name of the organization or establishment each attendee 
represents, if any;
     Occupational title and position of each attendee, if any;
     If each attendee is planning to participate in-person or 
via teleconference;
     Whether each attendee is planning to speak at the meeting; 
and
     If planning to speak, the approximate time each attendee 
wishes to speak, and the topics each attendee wishes to cover at the 
meeting.
    OSHA will review each request to speak and determine whether the 
information it contains warrants the amount of time the individual 
requested. To ensure that each individual wishing to speak is allotted 
time, speakers will be limited to a maximum of 10 minutes each. OSHA 
may also limit the time allocated to any individual who fails to comply 
substantially with the procedures for submitting a request to speak.
    At OSHA's discretion and as time permits, individuals who did not 
submit a request to speak may be allowed time, not exceeding five 
minutes, to make a brief oral statement at the end of the scheduled 
presentations.
    OSHA will provide access to the public meeting via teleconference. 
Attendees participating via teleconference can listen in, but will be 
unable to speak during the meeting. The number of lines provided is 
limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis to 
those who indicate that they will be participating via teleconference 
in their requests to attend the meeting. Additional teleconference 
information, including dial-in number, will be provided in advance of 
the meeting.
    OSHA will post the schedule of appearances for the public meeting, 
as well as additional information about the meeting, on OSHA's Web 
page: http://www.osha.gov. The meeting will be transcribed. The 
transcription and all materials submitted during the public meeting 
will be put in the public docket of the rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-
2013-0023) at http://www.regulations.gov.

Authority and Signature

    This document was prepared under the direction of David Michaels, 
Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and 
Health, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. It is issued 
under Sections 8 and 24 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 
U.S.C. 657, 673), Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 
U.S.C. 553), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 41-2012 (77 FR 3912 
(Jan. 25, 2012)).

    Signed at Washington, DC, November 8, 2013.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-27366 Filed 11-14-13; 8:45 am]
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