OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Checklist | Practical Law

OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Checklist | Practical Law

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OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Checklist

Practical Law Checklist 0-518-4579 (Approx. 14 pages)

OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Checklist

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
A Checklist to help private employers comply with their obligations to record certain work-related injuries and illnesses under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and its corresponding safety and health regulations. This Checklist addresses federal requirements. It describes Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordkeeping forms and discusses employer exemptions, proper documentation of injuries and illnesses, maintenance of and access to OSHA records, employee training, and recordkeeping audits.

Determine if a Partial Exemption Applies

Employers covered by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) must record certain work-related injuries and illnesses unless the employer either:
(29 C.F.R. §§ 1904.1 and 1904.2; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Covered Employers: Partial Exemptions.)

Understand OSHA's Recordkeeping Forms

Employers must record certain work-related injuries and illnesses on three separate OSHA forms (or their equivalents):
  • OSHA 300: Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (300 Log). Employers must maintain a separate 300 Log for each establishment that they expect to operate for one year or longer.
  • OSHA 301: Injury and Illness Incident Report (301 Incident Report). A 301 Incident Report provides more detailed information about each of the cases recorded on the 300 Log.
  • OSHA 300A: Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. Employers must complete a 300A Annual Summary even if there were no work-related injuries or illnesses during a calendar year.
(29 C.F.R. §§ 1904.29, 1904.30, and 1904.32; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: OSHA 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, OSHA 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report, and OSHA 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.)

Evaluate Whether to Use Equivalent Forms

Employers can use equivalent forms to record work-related injuries and illnesses. An equivalent form must:
  • Include the same information as the OSHA form it replaces.
  • Be readable and understandable.
  • Be completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form it replaces.
(29 C.F.R. § 1904.29(b)(4); see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Use of Equivalent Forms.)

Determine if an Injury or Illness Must Be Recorded

Is the Individual a Covered Employee?

Employers must record work-related injuries and illnesses for:
  • Employees on their payroll, regardless of whether they are executives, hourly, part-time, or seasonal.
  • Employees that the employer or the employer's agent supervises, regardless of whether they are on the employer's payroll. If an employer supervises employees of a temporary agency or a contractor, the employer must record injuries and illnesses suffered by these individuals. (See Practice Note, Workplace Safety and Health for Temporary Workers, Joint Employers, and Multi-Employer Settings.)
  • Contract employees who work in areas covered by OSHA's Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard, even if the employers do not supervise the contract employees (29 C.F.R. § 1910.119).
(29 C.F.R. § 1904.31; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Covered Employees.)

Does the Injury or Illness Meet the OSHA Definition?

The OSHA regulations define injury or illness as an abnormal condition or disorder (29 C.F.R. § 1904.46). OSHA regulations provide the following examples:
  • Injuries include:
    • cuts;
    • fractures;
    • sprains; and
    • amputations.
  • Illnesses include:
    • skin diseases;
    • respiratory disorders; and
    • poisoning.
(29 C.F.R. § 1904.46; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Definition of Injury or Illness.)

Is the Injury or Illness Work-Related?

Employers should make a good faith determination of whether the injury or illness is work-related based on whether events or exposures in the work environment:
  • Caused the injury or illness.
  • Contributed to the injury or illness.
  • Significantly aggravated a preexisting injury or illness.
(29 C.F.R. § 1904.5.)
(See Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: What is Work-Related? and OSHA Recordable Injuries and Illnesses Checklist: Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.)

Is the Injury or Illness a New Case?

A workplace injury or illness is a new case when an employee has:
  • Never before reported similar symptoms.
  • Completely recovered (meaning all signs and symptoms of a previous injury or illness have disappeared), and workplace events or exposures cause the signs or symptoms to reappear.
(29 C.F.R. § 1904.6; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: What Is a New Case?.)

Are the Recording Criteria Met?

An employer must record work-related injuries and illnesses that are new cases and either:
  • Result in:
    • death;
    • days away from work;
    • restricted work or transfer to another job;
    • medical treatment beyond first aid;
    • loss of consciousness, regardless of duration; or
    • a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, such as cracked bones, punctured ear drums, cancer, or chronic irreversible diseases.
  • Meet one of the other recording criteria:
    • needlestick injuries or cuts from a contaminated sharp object;
    • medical removal of the employee under the medical surveillance requirements of an OSHA standard (OSHA standards that contain medical removal provisions include lead, cadmium, formaldehyde, and benzene) (see Practice Note, OSHA Medical Surveillance and Screening);
    • occupational hearing loss; or
    • tuberculosis infection or exposure.
(29 C.F.R. §§ 1904.7, 1904.8, 1904.9, 1904.10, and 1904.11; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: General Recording Criteria Under the Federal Regulations and Other Recording Criteria Under the Federal Regulations; see also OSHA Recordable Injuries and Illnesses Checklist: General Recording Criteria and Special Recording Criteria.)

Determine if COVID-19 Cases Must Be Recorded

For more information on OSHA recordkeeping requirements for COVID-19 cases, see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Recording COVID-19 Cases.

Properly Record Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

OSHA regulations require employers to:
  • Within seven calendar days of receiving notice that a covered employee has suffered a recordable work-related injury or illness:
    • complete all required information on the 300 Log (or equivalent); and
    • complete a 301 Incident Report (or equivalent).
  • At the end of each calendar year:
    • review their 300 Logs for accuracy and update if necessary;
    • summarize the information from the 300 Log on the 300A Annual Summary (or equivalent);
    • have a company executive certify that the information on the Annual Summary is accurate and complete; and
    • post the 300A Annual Summary in a conspicuous place in each establishment from February 1 through April 30 of the year following the year covered by the summary.
(29 C.F.R. §§ 1904.29 and 1904.32; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Recording Injuries and Illnesses on OSHA Forms.)
For more information about OSHA's requirements regarding the reporting of certain accidents and injuries, see Practice Note, Health and Safety in the Workplace: Overview: Reporting Certain Accidents or Injuries.

Maintain a Separate Confidential List of Privacy Concern Cases

Employers should:
  • Enter the term "privacy case" instead of an employee's name on the 300 Log in the following circumstances:
    • injuries or illnesses to an intimate body part or the reproductive system;
    • injuries or illnesses resulting from a sexual assault;
    • mental illnesses;
    • HIV infection, hepatitis, or tuberculosis;
    • needlestick injuries and cuts from sharp objects contaminated with another person's blood or potentially infectious material; and
    • other illnesses (but not injuries) if the employee requests his name not be entered on the 300 Log.
  • Maintain a separate confidential list of the case numbers and employee names for privacy concern cases.
  • Leave the job title blank and limit the amount of detail provided on the 300 Log if the employee's job title or the description of the nature of the injury or illness may enable others to identify the employee.
(29 C.F.R. § 1904.29(6), (7), and (9); see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Privacy Concern Cases.)

Electronically Submit Injury and Illness Records to OSHA

Under OSHA's electronic reporting requirements, certain covered employers must electronically submit certain injury and illness records to OSHA through a secure website provided by OSHA (29 C.F.R. § 1904.41).
For more information on OSHA's electronic reporting requirements, including submission deadlines, history of the rule, and the 2023 rule amending the electronic submission requirements effective January 1, 2024, see Practice Note, OSHA and Illness Recordkeeping: Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness to Records to OSHA.

Provide Access to Injury and Illness Records

OSHA regulations provide timeframes for employers to respond to requests for specific records. Employers must:
  • Produce recordkeeping forms to OSHA within four business hours of an OSHA request.
  • Provide copies of records to employees, former employees, and their representatives within the following timeframes:
    • the current or prior 300 Logs for the establishment where an employee or former employee worked by the end of the next business day;
    • a 301 Incident Report involving an employee or former employee by the end of the next business day; and
    • the "Tell us about the case" section of an Incident Report to a union representative within seven calendar days if a union represents employees under a collective bargaining agreement. All other information should be removed from the copies of the Incident Reports.
(29 C.F.R. §§ 1904.35 and 1904.40; see Practice Note, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Access to Injury and Illness Records.)

Communications and Training

To help ensure compliance with recordkeeping requirements and anti-retaliation provisions, employers should:
  • Establish a reasonable procedure for employees to report all workplace injuries and illnesses promptly and accurately that does not deter or discourage a reasonable employee from accurately reporting an injury or illness.
  • Inform each employee of the employer's reporting procedure.
  • Inform each employee that:
    • employees have the right to report work-related injuries and illnesses; and
    • employers are prohibited from discharging or discriminating against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses.
  • Not discharge or discriminate against any employees for reporting a work-related injury or illness.
  • Implement programs tailored to train:
    • managers to avoid discouraging employees from reporting and recording workplace injuries or illnesses;
    • employees on health and safety materials, including the employer's own programs and procedures and OSHA standards and programs; and
    • recordkeeping staff on OSHA requirements and the employer's internal recordkeeping procedures.
For a model policy, see Standard Document, Reporting Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Policy.
For more about OSHA's anti-retaliation provisions, see Practice Notes, OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: Procedure and Prohibition Against Retaliation for Reporting Work-Related Injuries or Illnesses and Whistleblower Complaints Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Conduct Periodic Recordkeeping Audits

Employers can help ensure their injury and illness records are accurate and minimize the risk of OSHA citations by:
  • Cross-checking their first aid logs, workers' compensation reports, and accident reports against the required injury and illness recordkeeping forms.
  • Promptly addressing any issues resulting from the employer's recordkeeping audit.
(See Practice Notes, Handling an OSHA Inspection: Inspect Yourself and OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping: OSHA Citations.)