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Loss Prevention Bulletins

OSHA record keeping requirements

Employers are required to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) record keeping rule as of January 1, 2002. OSHA made the change in order to improve how the government tracks occupational injuries and illnesses, increase employee involvement, create simpler forms, and give employers more flexibility to use computers to satisfy regulatory requirements.

However, two aspects of the rule have not changed.

First, if you are an employer with 10 or fewer employees, you are not required to comply with the record keeping rule.

Second, if you have more than one place of business or establishment, you are required to keep a separate log and summary (form 300 or an equivalent) for each location.

Let’s review the rule so that you’ll be ready.

Required forms

The OSHA form 300 (log of work-related injuries and illnesses) has been simplified and printed on smaller, legal-size paper.

Posting requirements have also changed. Under the rule the summary only (not the log) must be posted for three months (from February 1 until April 30) instead of one month.

The form 301 (injury and illness incident report) includes more data about how the injury or illness occurred.

OSHA has created a form (300A – summary of work-related injuries and illnesses) to make it easier to post and calculate incidence rates.

Definitions and other important provisions of the record keeping standard

Clarifies the definition of work-relationship, limiting the recording of pre-existing cases and adding exceptions for some categories of injury and illness.

Definitions of medical treatment, first aid, and restricted work to simplify recording decisions.

Requires a significant degree of aggravation before a pre-existing injury or illness is considered work-related.

Establishes one set of criteria for recording both work-related injuries and work-related illnesses (there were formerly different standards).

The rule simplifies the counting of days away, restricted days and job transfer.

Eliminates the term “lost workdays” and requires recording of days away from work or days restricted or days transferred to another job.

Employers now count calendar days instead of workdays.

Clarifies the recording of “light duty” or restricted work cases. Requires employers to record cases when the injured or ill employee is restricted from “routine job functions,” which are defined as work activities the employee regularly performs at least once weekly.

Improves employee involvement by requiring the employer to inform employees how to report an injury or illness, and to provide “limited access” to injury and illness records to employees and their representatives.

Prohibits an employer from discriminating against employees who do report injuries or illnesses.

Protects employee privacy by:
1. Prohibiting employers from entering an individual’s name on form 300 for certain types of sensitive injuries or illnesses (e.g. sexual assaults, HIV infections, mental illnesses, etc.);
2. Allowing employers not to describe the nature of sensitive injuries where the employee’s identity would be known;
3. Giving employee representative access only to the portion of the form 301 that contains no personal information; and
4. Requiring employers to remove employees’ names before providing the data to persons not provided access rights under the rule.
Requires certification of the summary by a company executive.

Summary and where to find help

Overall, the record keeping standard is easy to read and understand. It is flexible enough to allow employers to use automation to record and track work-related injuries and illnesses.

Detailed information on the record keeping standard is available at the OSHA Website – http://www.osha.gov. One of the pages on OSHA’s Website is an excellent source of materials (forms, questions and answers, etc.) that can be accessed directly at http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping.

If you have any questions or comments, contact your Zurich account executive or the Loss Prevention Department at 800-821-7803.

This bulletin in pdf format:

LC-105A 09/07 © 2007 Zurich American Insurance Company

This Loss Prevention Bulletin is provided for informational purposes only. Please consult with qualified legal counsel to address your particular circumstances and needs. Zurich is not providing legal advice and assumes no liability concerning the information set forth above.

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