Below you will find a recent reminder from OSHA regarding the OSHA 300A reporting to the “Injury Tracking Application” or ITA. Gins with 20 or more employees (at any point) during the previous calendar year are required to submit their OSHA 300A summary information to OSHA each year.

OSHA uses this information for a number of things including national emphasis programs, regional emphasis programs and targeted inspections. They also use the information to build a baseline of the industry as a whole.

It is common for OSHA inspectors to review OSHA 300’s at the start of any inspection and now they look to see if a facility has submitted their data online prior to going to a site.

While the form itself doesn’t seem all that complicated there are a lot of nuances as to how to fill out the data that can make significant differences some calculations. It’s important that it is filled out properly even if you don’t have to file on the ITA because it gives inspectors a glimpse on your operation if they ever come to your facility.

We have asked Tracey Crawford with Safe Workforce Development to do a webinar on the OSHA 300 forms (300, 300A and 301) to help everyone stay on the same page stay in compliance. Fines for not having the forms and/or not reporting are getting steep.

Please Consider attending our FREE OSHA Record Keeping Webinar Next Week.. January 24 at 2 PM Eastern Time (1PM Central).

OSHA Injury Recordkeeping

• Completing OSHA injury and illness Recordkeeping Forms – Brief review of how to fill these out, when to complete them, how to count hours, what to post
• When is considered an OSHA recordable injury?  – Brief overview of what is considered a recordable injury under OSHA definitions
• Reporting severe injuries to OSHA – what injuries, how quickly to report, what to expect afterwards
• Scenarios of injuries and incidents – Examples of when to and when not to record an injury
• OSHA’s online reporting system – Who needs to report, how to access the system, and what information you will need

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdeqppjgiHdy8CdGpTa8HV-Kqkkw3ARnb

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We’ll see you on January 24th

OSHA is reminding employers to submit their 2022 OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) data by March 2, 2023.

Who is required to submit Form 300A data?

• Establishments with 250 or more employees that are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records.
• Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in designated industries.
• Establishments under Federal OSHA jurisdiction can use the ITA Coverage Application to determine if they are required to electronically report their injury and illness information to OSHA. Establishments under State Plan jurisdiction should contact their State Plan. 

How to submit Form 300A data:

As part of the Department of Labor’s IT modernization and security enhancement efforts, the Injury Tracking Application transitioned its login procedure to Login.gov — a secure sign-in service used by many government agencies. Current and new account holders need to create a Login.govaccount to submit their 2022 injury and illness data. Detailed guidance on how to carry out this change is available as a job aid and video.

If you have questions, visit the FAQs webpage. If the FAQs don’t address your questions, complete the Help Request Form located on the page. Thank you for your cooperation. 

Office of Statistical Analysis 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
U.S. Department of Labor

Please see the press release below from OSHA regarding their maximum penalties.

The Southern Southeastern Annual Meeting is just a few weeks away. We’re really excited about this year’s meeting at the Marriott Myrtle Beach – Grand Dunes. Everything is looking good (fingers crossed) for having a great in-person event this year.

Room Block is closing THIS SATURDAY DECEMBER 24. Please make your hotel arrangements and registration SOON!!!.

Go to http://www.southern-southeastern.org/meetings/meetings/annualmeeting.html for meeting registration and Hotel Information.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE IN MYRTLE BEACH!!!!!

AGENDA AT A GLANCE

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 (afternoon)

Farm Policy Committee

• 2023 Farm Bill – Robbie Minnich and Tas Smith – National Cotton Council
• Process for Gathering Production Data – Anthony Prillaman, USDA – NASS
• Margin Protection Coverage – Jay Yates and Kyle Core – Watts and Associates

thursday, january 19, 2023

State Grower Meetings

Ginners Safety and Insurance Committee Meeting

Updates on OSHA activities around the cotton belt and accidents in the Southeast.

Ginners Board of Directors Meeting

• Issues Update – Dusty Findley
• Working with Farm Labor Contractors – Josh Viau, Fisher and Phillips

Growers Board of Directors Meeting

• ACP Update – Tas Smith, NCC
• Crop Science Update – Jennifer Crumpler, Bayer Crop Science

Friday, January 20, 2023

State Ginners Meetings

General Session

• Cotton Situation and Outlook – Dr. Jon Devine, Cotton Inc.
• US Trust Protocol – Panel Discussion
  Tillman White – NCC
  Scott Wagner – Levi Strauss
  Kurt Smithwick – Target
• National Cotton Ginners Update
• Southeastern Cotton Ginner of the Year

Lunch

Producer Breakout

• Southern Cotton Growers Planting Seed Task Force – Panel Discussion with State Departments of Ag and Land Grant University Specialists

Ginner Breakout

• Cotton Seed Outlook – James Patterson, APEX
• Gin Lab Update – Joe Thomas, USDA – ARS
• Handling Seed House Fires (a ginner perspective) – Rich Lindsey, Cherokee Gin
• Bale Cotton Logistics – Neil Woods, Olam

Southeast Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Meeting

Presidential Reception
Hors d’oeuvres
Northtower Band
Revere Raffle ($10,000 top prize)

Saturday, January 21, 2023

General Session and Annual Meetings

• Cotton Inc Update – Berrye Worsham, Cotton Inc.
• NCC Update – Robbie Minnich, NCC
• Ag Law Update – Harrison Pittman – National Agriculture Law Center

Drive Home Safely

As we recently published, the Department of Labor has published the final Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for 2023 today. The new wages will take effect on January 1, 2023. There are no changes for the wages we put out in our last post. For the Southeast users of the H-2A program will have to pay $13.67 in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. North Carolina and Virginia H-2A employers will have to pay $14.91 and employers in Florida will have a new wage of $14.33. The national average for the AEWR is $16.62.

If you employ H-2A workers and will be working past the first of the year, make sure you’re making arrangements to change these wages on January 1.

Our prayers go out to the family and crew of the Mobley Gin Company in Doerun, GA. The gin was hit by what NWS has preliminarily determined was an EF-2 tornado. The tornado hit in the early hours of Thursday morning. Thankfully the gin had gone to only running during days and the crew had not yet come in to work. No injuries were reported. Equipment and buildings can be replaced but lives cannot.

The USDA NASS released the Farm Labor Survey last week. The survey is used by the Department of Labor to determine the AEWR’s for the next year. The National Council of Ag Employers have taken the survey and ESTIMATED the next round of AEWR’s. The changes are NOT FINAL but give us an idea of what to expect based on the data released. The new wages are normally official in mid-December and effective near the first of the year.

Remember if you’re an H-2A employer, you will likely have to pay the new AEWR after the effective date of the AEWR’s in late December (we will let you know when published). This could apply for those of you ginning late into the month of December.

We wanted to let you see what to expect for next year and get you prepared for the changes. Some states have huge increases and others are modest. Remember these are not final and could change a little when finalized.