§673 Statistics

Summary

The Secretary of Labor, working with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, must set up and keep a program to collect, combine, and study workplace safety and health numbers. The program can cover all jobs, even ones not covered by other parts of the law, but it cannot include jobs that section 653 excludes. The Secretary must gather accurate counts of work injuries and illnesses. That includes all disabling, serious, or significant injuries and illnesses, whether or not the worker lost time from work, but not minor injuries that only need first aid and do not involve medical treatment, loss of consciousness, limits on work or motion, or a job transfer. To do this, the Secretary can run or support studies and information programs, give grants to States or local governments, and fund research by grant or contract. The Federal share of any State grant may be up to 50 percent of the State’s total cost. With a State’s consent, the Secretary may use State or local staff and facilities, with or without paying them. Employers must send reports the Secretary requires, based on the records they keep under section 657(c). Existing agreements with States for collecting these statistics stay in effect until replaced by new grants or contracts.