The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that all employers who are required to maintain the OSHA 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses post a summary of the previous year’s log between February 1st and April 30th each year, even if no incidents occurred in the preceding calendar year. The summary (OSHA Form 300A) must be certified by a company executive and posted in a conspicuous location where notices to employees are customarily posted.
All employers who have more than ten employees are covered by this requirement unless they qualify as part of an exempt low-risk industry. A full list of the industries exempt from OSHA routine recordkeeping requirements can be found on OSHA’s website.
State Plans are OSHA-approved workplace safety and health programs operated by individual states or U.S. territories. There are currently 22 State Plans covering both private sector and state and local government workers, and seven State Plans covering only state and local government workers. State Plans are monitored by OSHA and must be at least as effective as OSHA in protecting workers and in preventing work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths.
California is one of those states. CA’s State Plan, known as CAL OSHA, exceeds OSHA’s minimum requirements. The record keeping guidelines are almost identical. One notable difference is that under CAL OSHA, Motion picture and video industries are required to follow routine recordkeeping mandates, but they are not under OSHA guidelines.
Although not exactly related to record keeping, another huge difference between OSHA and CAL OSHA is that with CAL OSHA, EVERY employer must create a written Workplace Injury & Illness Prevention Program.
Employers Must Report The Following within 8 hours
- Fatality
- Amputation
Employers Must Report The Following within 24 hours
- Loss of eye
- Hospitalization
Employers Must Report The Following on Form 300 & 301 within 7 Days any Work-related
- Fatality
- Injury that results in loss of consciousness, days away from work, restricted work, or transfer to another job
- Diagnosis of cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked bones/teeth, and punctured eardrums - Injury requiring medical treatment beyond first aid.
Recordkeeping Requirements
Certain employers with more than 10 employees are required to keep a record of serious work-related injuries and illnesses on OHSA's Form 300, the "Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses," and OSHA's Form 301, the "Injury and Illness Incident Report." Many industries are exempt, as mentioned earlier. You must enter each recordable injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log and 301 Incident Report within seven (7) calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness has occurred.
The following work-related injuries or illnesses are serious and therefore must be recorded:
- Any work-related fatality.
- Any work-related injury or illness that results in loss of consciousness, days away from work, restricted work, or transfer to another job.
- Any work-related diagnosis of cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked bones or teeth, and punctured eardrums.
- Any work-related injury or illness requiring medical treatment beyond first aid. See CAL OSHA’s or OSHA’s website for a full list of what is considered treatment beyond first aid.
Also note, Special recording criteria apply to work-related cases involving needlesticks and sharps injuries, medical removal, hearing loss, or tuberculosis.
If an employee is injured or witnesses an injury at work, they must report it immediately to the nearest available manager. Employees should render any assistance requested by that manager. When any accident, injury, or illness occurs while an employee is at work, regardless of the nature or severity, the employee must complete an injury reporting form and return it to Human Resources as soon as possible. Reporting should not be allowed to delay necessary medical attention. Once the accident is reported, follow-up will be handled by Human Resources or the designated Safety Officer, including a determination as to whether the injured employee may return to work.
Electronic Reporting Provisions
Beginning in 2017, under the new Federal OSHA rules, certain employers will be required to electronically submit injury and illness data that they are already required to record on their onsite OSHA Injury and Illness forms.
Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the record-keeping regulation must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017. These same employers will be required to submit information from all 2017 forms (300A, 300, and 301) by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2.
Establishments with 20-249 employees in certain high-risk industries such as construction, tire stores, furniture stores, and any more must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017, and their 2017 Form 300A by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2
General Duty
Under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, every employer has a general duty to “… furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.” That duty applies regardless of the location where your employees are working. For home office situations where the employee performs office work activities, such as filing, computer research or work, reading, writing, etc., employers have little responsibility. In fact, OSHA (the federal agency that enforces the OSH Act) has issued guidance stating:
- It will not conduct inspections of employees’ home offices;
- It will not hold employers liable for employees’ home offices; and
- It does not expect employers to inspect an employee’s home office.
For other home-based work, such as home manufacturing operations, OSHA will only conduct an inspection if a complaint indicates that a violation of a safety or health standard exists that threatens physical harm or that an imminent danger exists. The inspection, however, will be limited to the employee’s work activities, not the entire home or furnishings. Although the inspections will be limited, employers are still responsible for hazards caused by materials, equipment, or work processes that it provides or requires to be used in an employee’s home.
Additionally, employers, who are required to keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses under the OSH Act, are responsible to do so even if the injury or illness occurs in an employee’s home. For employees working remotely, OSHA requires the employee to be linked to a home establishment and that any illnesses meeting the recording criteria should be recorded on that home establishment’s OSHA 300 log.
Stated another way, there is not an exception for work-related injuries or illnesses that occur at home. However, for an injury sustained at home to be considered a “work-related” injury it must have 1) occurred while the employee is being paid to work, and 2) be directly related to the performance of the employee’s work duties (rather than to the general home environment). It is also notable that employers likely would remain responsible for injuries arising at home worksites pursuant to state worker’s compensation laws and/or under a tort theory, such as negligence. Accordingly, employers should have a legal obligation in helping ensure home worksites are safe.
