The OSHA 300 Log is the form employers use to record work-related injuries and illnesses, one entry per case, for each calendar year. It is required by the recordkeeping rule of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1904.
Employers with more than 10 employees, outside certain exempt industries, must keep one for each establishment, meaning a single physical location where business is conducted. They must enter each recordable case within seven calendar days and keep the log for five years.
Filling in a line follows the column headings on the form. Deciding whether a case belongs on the log at all is the harder part, and it starts with who must keep a log.
The OSHA 300 form, formally the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, lists who was hurt or became ill, what happened, and how serious it was. It is one of three linked records OSHA requires covered employers to keep (OSHA, Recordkeeping):
"OSHA 300 logs" in the plural, or simply "OSHA logs," means the set a company keeps. That is a separate log for each physical location expected to operate for a year or longer, and a new log each calendar year (OSHA recordkeeping forms package). Listing a case does not mean the employer or worker was at fault, or that it qualifies for workers' compensation (29 CFR 1904.0).
OSHA Form 300 is a fillable PDF on OSHA's recordkeeping forms page. You can use an equivalent form instead, including one kept on a computer. It must hold the same information, be as readable and understandable, and be completed using the same instructions (29 CFR 1904.29).
The OSHA 300 Log requirements apply to many employers, but not all. There are two partial exemptions.
Neither exemption removes every duty. You must still keep records if OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tells you in writing. Every employer must also report the most severe cases to OSHA directly, as set out under recordable vs reportable below.
The log covers everyone on your payroll, including executives and part-time, seasonal, and migrant workers. It also covers temporary workers you supervise day to day (29 CFR 1904.31). In a State Plan state, meaning a state that runs its own OSHA-approved program, OSHA's forms package tells you to check with the State Plan whether the exemptions apply. Keeping the log is one of several standing duties in the guide to what OSHA compliance means.
OSHA reporting and OSHA recordkeeping are separate duties, and the two terms are easy to mix up. An OSHA recordable case is one that meets the recording criteria in the next section and goes on your 300 Log. You keep the log yourself, and OSHA sees it when it asks for your records or when you submit data electronically (29 CFR 1904.40 and 1904.41).
A reportable case is one of the severe events you must tell OSHA about directly. That means a work-related fatality within 8 hours, or an inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours (OSHA, Report a Fatality or Severe Injury). Recording applies to employers who must keep the log. Reporting applies to every employer.
A severe case can be both: report it within the deadline, then decide whether it also meets the recording criteria.
A case goes on the 300 Log only if it is work-related, is a new case, and meets at least one recording criterion (29 CFR 1904.4). Check every case against these four steps.
Presume it is if an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to it, or significantly aggravated an existing condition. Then check the nine exceptions in 29 CFR 1904.5. They include symptoms caused solely by something outside work, eating or drinking for personal consumption, and the common cold or flu.
A mental illness counts only if the employee voluntarily gives you a physician's or other licensed health care professional's opinion that it is work-related. If an exception applies, stop here.
It is new if the employee has no recorded injury or illness of the same type affecting the same part of the body. It is also new if they had one, recovered completely, and a new event or exposure at work brought the symptoms back (29 CFR 1904.6). If it continues a case already on the log, update that line instead.
Record the case if it results in any of the following (29 CFR 1904.7):
These are recordable under their own sections:
If the case passes steps 1 and 2 and meets step 3 or step 4, it goes on the log. If a case is still unclear after these steps, OSHA's form suggests calling your local OSHA office (OSHA recordkeeping forms package).
Medical treatment means managing and caring for a patient to combat disease or disorder. It does not include visits solely for observation or counseling, or diagnostic procedures such as X-rays and blood tests (29 CFR 1904.7(b)(5)). First aid is a closed list: OSHA calls it complete, so any treatment not on it is medical treatment.
The 14 first aid treatments are:
Recommendations count too. A clinician's recommendation to take a non-prescription medication at prescription strength is medical treatment. If the employee skips a recommended medical treatment, you still record the case.
These examples are illustrative, not real cases. Each assumes the injury happened at work and is a new case.
Enter each recordable case on the 300 Log, and complete a 301 Incident Report, within seven calendar days of receiving the information (29 CFR 1904.29). Fill in the year and establishment details at the top, then work through columns A to M. The labels and examples below are OSHA's own, from the form (OSHA forms package).
Check only one column, for the most serious outcome. G is the most serious and J the least.
If the outcome changes later, draw a line through the original entry and write the new one.
Count calendar days from the day after the injury, including weekends and days off the employee could not have worked because of it. You may stop counting once days away, days restricted, or the two combined reach 180 (29 CFR 1904.7(b)(3)).
Check one: injury, skin disorder, respiratory condition, poisoning, hearing loss, or all other illnesses.
This illustrative example, not a real case, fills in one line for the stitched cut from the worked examples above:
For these cases, write "privacy case" in column B instead of the employee's name (29 CFR 1904.29):
Keep a separate, confidential list of their names and case numbers. Employees, former employees, and their representatives can ask for a copy of the 300 Log. You must provide it by the end of the next business day (29 CFR 1904.35).
The three forms hold different things and have different deadlines:
You post the 300A, never the log: review the log for completeness first, and enter zeros if you had no cases (29 CFR 1904.32).
The company executive who signs the 300A must be one of these (29 CFR 1904.32(b)(4)):
For the posting dates and the rest of the summary, see the guide to OSHA Form 300A posting requirements and deadlines.
Keep all three forms and the privacy case list for five years after the end of the year they cover. Update stored logs for newly found cases or changed classifications (29 CFR 1904.33). Depending on size and industry, some establishments must also submit data from these forms to OSHA electronically by March 2 each year (29 CFR 1904.41). For who must submit and how, see OSHA's Injury Tracking Application page.
Each of these, drawn from the rules above, can put a case on the log that does not belong there, or leave off one that does.
Two other slips to avoid are missing the 300A posting window and discarding logs before the retention period ends.
Before the 300A goes up, Lancaster Safety's OSHA recordkeeping support has a consultant evaluate your OSHA forms and the injury data behind them. The consultant advises on any changes, to avoid over- or under-recording. To have your log and recordability decisions checked, get a quote for a recordkeeping review.