OSHA RECORDKEEPING FAQS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
OSHA’S RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS
To keep people safe on the job.
Accurate injury and illness records will help us achieve that goal. This information also helps employers, workers, and OSHA evaluate safety, understand industry hazards, and implement preventative measures.
Applies to MOST Businesses
Many employers with more than 10 employees at any time during the calendar year must record serious work-related injuries and illnesses (certain low-risk industries are exempt) using OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301. Employers who are required to keep Form 300, the Injury and Illness log, must post Form 300A, the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illness, in a workplace every year from February 1 to April 30. Current and former employees, or their representatives, have the right to access injury and illness records. Employers must give the requester a copy of the relevant records by the end of the next business day.
- Read these instructions
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Log injuries & illnesses as they occur
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Post form 300A in the workplace from February 1 – April 30
All businesses, regardless of size, must report serious accidents within the following timeframes:
- 8 Hours: report work-related fatalities right away
- 24 hours: report work-related amputations, losses of an eye, or inpatient hospitalization of a worker immediately
February 1st to April 30th
Yes. Partially exempt industries include establishments in specific low-hazard retail, service, finance, insurance, or real estate industries. OSHA has updated the list of industries that, due to relatively low occupational injury and illness rates, are exempt from the requirement to routinely keep injury and illness records. The new rule maintains the exemption for any employer with 10 or fewer employees, regardless of their industry classification, from the requirement to routinely keep records of worker injuries and illnesses.
You must use the OSHA 300, 300A, and 301 forms for recordable injuries and illnesses. The OSHA 300 form is called the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, the 300A is the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and the OSHA 301 form is called the Injury and Illness Incident Report.
A company executive must certify the log. Company executives are considered to be the owner of the company, officer of the corporation, the highest-ranking company official, or immediate supervisor of the highest-ranking company official. The company executive should sign only the 300A form, and the signature should go in the bottom right-hand corner. The 300A needs to be signed and be posted starting February 1 through the end of April.
The 301 is the incident report, you use it to record all types of injuries/incidents. The 300 form is used to record only recordable injuries (medical treatment beyond first aid, death, days away from work, job transfer).
You’ll need to submit the injury and illness data by March 2nd if you have:
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- 20-249 employees classified with historically high rates of occupational injury & illness (refer to 300A Table)
- 100+ employees in designated industries (refer to Appendix D)
- 250 or more employees that are not exempt (refer to Appendix A)
- Still unsure? Use OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
IS THIS RECORDABLE?
SHA’s definition of work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities are those in which an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the condition. In addition, if an event or exposure in the work environment significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness.
You must record the recordable injuries and illnesses that occur to employees who are not on your payroll if you supervise these employees on a day-to-day basis. If the subcontractor’s employee is under the day-to-day supervision of the subcontractor, the subcontractor is responsible for recording the injury or illness. If you supervise the subcontractor employee’s work on a day-to-day basis, you must record the injury or illness. It would be recommended to have a contract in place with all subcontractors to distinguish who is liable for safety and the overall supervision of the workers. You want to eliminate the possibility of having the injury recorded on two separate companies’ OSHA 300 logs.
Yes, since the employee was given a prescription, you would need to record the injury.
Yes, the doctor’s medical recommendation of physical therapy, which is considered to be medical treatment, which deems this incident as recordable.
Yes, any injury that requires medical attention beyond first aid must be recorded on the log.
Yes, it would be considered a recordable since the employee was prescribed medication and the finger was partially amputated. The amputation would also need to be reported to OSHA within 24 hours.
Due to the fact that the medical professional only flushed the eye with solution to cleanse the employee’s eye, did not use forceps to remove the irritant, or recommend any time off/restricted work then this incident would not be recordable.
You must consult the physical therapist and determine if the treatment would be considered massage therapy or physical therapy. If the treatment is considered massage therapy, then the injury would not be recordable. If the therapist considers the treatment to be physical therapy, then it would be recordable.
Yes, this case would be recordable because the employee was injured in the company parking lot which is considered to be the work environment.
If the employee was on their normal commute to work in a motor vehicle accident, then the case would not be recordable. OSHA considers the employee’s commute from home to work to end, once he or she arrives at the work environment (i.e. parking lot, office, jobsite, etc.) or when he or she starts traveling “in the interest of the employer.”
As the employer, you are responsible for filling out the OSHA recordkeeping forms only for the period of the year during which you owned the establishment. For example, if you own a company until June, you would fill out the average number of employees, hours worked, injuries, etc. from January to June. The new owner would then be required to fill out the OSHA forms for July to August.
Yes, this incident is recordable since the injury occurred while the employee was at work and it resulted in days away from work.
Yes, if the employees are under direct supervision of your company.
You want to count all calendar days that the employee is off, up to 180.
Yes, it is recordable because the employee was prescribed medicine.
In this situation, you end the count of ‘days away from work’ on the date the physician recommended that the employee return to work.
You’ll need to count all the days away from work starting the day after the employee was injured (even if it’s a weekend, or an employee is not scheduled). When the employee returns for restricted/light duty, count those days until they returned to full duty.
You’ll need to count all the days away from work, starting the day after the employee was injured (even if it’s a weekend, or an employee is not scheduled). When the employee returns for restricted/light duty, count those days until they returned to full duty.
No, this would not be considered a recordable incident because the foreign object in the eye was removed by eye drops, not forceps, and because there is no loss of workday or restriction/job transfer.
If there was no other treatment besides an observation and basic first aid, then no it is not recordable.
Yes, their treatment would be considered medical treatment and they missed days from work.
OSHA Recordkeeping Guide
The essential Recordkeeping documents with easy-to-follow instructions. This guide includes the resources, requirements, forms, and instructions to help you comply with OSHA’s Recordkeeping, and where to turn when you need help.