Research into the Completeness of the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

1. Research into the Completeness of the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses William Wiatrowski Bureau of Labor Statistics June 10, 2013

2. Today’s Roadmap

3. Bureau of Labor Statistics • Statistical arm of US Department of Labor • Employment and unemployment • Consumer and producer prices • Wages, benefits • Productivity • Workplace safety

4. Early workplacesafety data • BLS worker injury data • Since early 1900s • Voluntary employer reporting • Concerns about compliance

5. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 • Department of Labor to provide statistics • Mandatory employer reporting • Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) -- counts and rates by industry and state

6. Concerns – 1980s • Lack of consistent national data on workers involved and circumstances of injury • Fatal work injuries not easily captured through sample survey

7. 1990s expansion • Case and demographic details • For cases with days away from work • Census of fatal occupational injuries

8. Concerns – 2000s • Research studies • Comparisons with workers’ compensation • Rosenman, Boden/Ozonoff • SOII captures 32-75 percent of cases

9. Congressional Action • Hearings • Research funding • BLS • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) • GAO study

10. BLS research • Confirm undercount • Identify sources of undercount • Measure undercount • Fix undercount

11. Today’s Roadmap

12. What is the SOII? • Establishment survey • OSHA-recordable cases • Includes employers not otherwise required to keep records • Collected soon after end of the year

13. SOII output • “Summary” data -- counts and rates • By detailed industry • By state • By case type • Days away • Restricted work • Other Rate per 100 full-time equivalent workers

14. SOII output • “Case and demographic” data • About the worker • Occupation • Age, sex, race • About the case • Type of injury • Event, source • Days away from work cases • Pilot study of restricted work cases

15. Unique aspects of the SOII • Definitions come from OSHA • Consistent data across states • Worker injuries and illnesses are infrequent events • Rate 3.5 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers • Many employers report zero cases

16. Known limitations of SOII • Limited data on workplace illnesses • No data for Federal government, small farms, self-employed • Details only for cases with days away from work

17. Possible limitationsof SOII • Undercount? • Cases reported elsewhere but not in SOII • Cases reported neither in SOII nor in other systems

18. Defining the undercount • Total public burden undercount • SOII undercount

19. Filters • Event occurs • Worker perceives injury • Worker acknowledges work-related • Desirable to report? • Reports • Supervisor • Injury is legitimate • Injury is work-related • Meets OSHA definitions • Allows time off or restricted duty • Records injury on OSHA log • Employer in BLS sample • Injury transferred to SOII

20. Today’s Roadmap

21. BLS undercount research – 2009-2012 • Matching SOII and workers’ compensation data • Multisource enumeration • Employer interviews

22. SOII-WC matching • Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data • Days away • Beyond WC waiting period

23. SOII-WC matching • Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data • Days away • Beyond WC waiting period

24. SOII-WC matching • Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data • Days away • Beyond WC waiting period

25. SOII-WC matching • Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data • Days away • Beyond WC waiting period

26. SOII-WC matching • Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data • Days away • Beyond WC waiting period

27. SOII-WC matching • Three additional states • Matching issues • Employer identification • Time of event • Consistent coding

28. Results • SOII appears to capture everything on the OSHA log • Evidence of undercount • 40%-70% SOII capture rate • Varies by method, state • Possible bias • Types of cases more likely to be missed by SOII • Ex: late year cases

29. Multisource enumeration • Beyond SOII and WC • Identify all cases, not just OSHA recordable • Data from emergency department visits, hospital discharges, others

30. Results • Sources lack “work” information • Work v medical • Data sources inconsistent across states • Value in multisource for State-based surveillance and topical research

31. Employer interviews • SOII respondents – variation by size, industry • Explore reasons for differences in OSHA logs, SOII, and State WC claims • Loosely structured questionnaire, in person visits • Qualitative details; not statistical sample

32. Results • Employer confusion, training • Differences in SOII and WC reporting • Treatment of temp help workers

33. Today’s Roadmap

34. Consensus recommendations • Work with OSHA to enhance recordkeeping • Improve training • Future research • Undercount over time • Variations by state, industry • Employer attributes and practices

35. Consensus recommendations • Improve coding consistency of SOII • Expand SOII data collection • Ex: union status • Supplement SOII • Household data • Publicize research efforts and results

36. New round of research • Expanded interviews – 4 states • Generalizable data on employer practices • Match WC-SOII for 12 years • Pilot test auto-coding • Improve consistency

37. Other SOII enhancements • Publish hospitalization data • On OSHA log; reviewing data quality • Expand data for cases of job transfer/restriction • First test results published April 2013 • More to come

38. Communications • Presentations • CSTE • National Safety Council • APHA • Publish research results • Expand BLS website • Articles • FAQs • More

39. Future efforts • Expand auto-coding • Follow-back studies • Work with OSHA to improve employer understanding

40. William Wiatrowski Occupational Safety and Health Statisticswww.bls.gov/iif202-691-6300wiatrowski.william@bls.gov