Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Requirements

Each year between February 1st and April 30th, employers are required to post a copy of OSHA’s Form 300A, which summarizes job-related injury and illness logged during 2015.  This must be displayed in a common area where notices to employees are usually posted.

If you employ more than ten people and you are not classified as a partially exempt industry, you must record  work-related injuries and illnesses using OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301.  Partially exempt industries would include specific low hazard retail, service, finance, insurance or real estate industries.
Under the OSHA Recordkeeping regulation (29 CFR 1904), covered employers are required to prepare and maintain records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses, using the OSHA 300 Log. This information is important for employers, workers and OSHA in evaluating the safety of a workplace, understanding industry hazards, and implementing worker protections to reduce and eliminate hazards.

And when it comes to reporting, what types of injuries/illnesses are recordable?  For starters, all work-related fatalities must be recorded.  Also, all work-related injuries and illnesses that result in days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, loss of consciousness or medical treatment beyond first aid must be recorded.  As a general guideline, use the OSHA Criteria Decision Tree:

In addition to the current recordkeeping requirements, in September, 2014, OSHA updated the new rule and as a result, all employers must report directly to OSHA the following:

• All work-related fatalities within 8 hours.  This will include fatalities occurring within 30 days of the work-related incident that must also reported.
• All work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations and all losses of an eye within 24 hours.  Further, for an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye, these incidents must be reported to OSHA only if they occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

OSHA recordkeeping can be a daunting task when it comes to what is recordable and what isn’t.  Let OECS help you navigate the required forms and answer the questions you have regarding OSHA recordkeeping.