President Trump has signed a congressional resolution rescinding OSHA's rule: Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain Accurate Records of Each Recordable Injury and Illness, otherwise known as the Volks rule.  This signing took place on April 5, 2017.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act authorizes OSHA to cite employers for violations of the record-keeping requirements only within a six-month time period. In the Volks case, the Court rejected OSHA’s attempt to extend this time period and held that employers could not be cited for failing to record injuries or illnesses beyond the six-month statute of limitations set forth in the Act.

After the Volks ruling, OSHA promulgated the Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain Accurate Records of Each Recordable Injury and Illness rule. This rule permitted OSHA to cite an employer’s record-keeping violations that were up to five years old.

Because of this resolution, OSHA may only cite employers for violations within the six-month statute of limitations. Note that employers must still maintain their OSHA 300 Logs of workplace injuries and illnesses for five years.