For decades, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has required companies to provide health and safety reports for review. Starting February 2017, The Department of Labor will make that information public on their website. With the rule, employers wil begin providing OSHA with data that they already collect. The difference is that this injury information will now be public.
Before applying for a job in a hazardous industry, applicants will be able to check employer safety records, and see at which job sites workers most frequently suffer severe injuries. Employers will be able to compare their safety records against those of the top performers in the industry. Journalists, researchers and worker advocates will have more data at their fingertips.