January 24, 2006  

If you think this is just another trivial rule, think again...one Guam employer (who had NO injuries) was fined $3,000 simply because it failed to post the annual report. 

OSHA's  record-keeping rules require you to post a record of workplace injuries each year.  This file will give you an overview of some of those rules.

All employers must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the hospitalization of three or more employees.  (Businesses classified in agriculture; mining; construction; manufacturing; transportation; communication, electric, gas, and sanitary services; or wholesale trade are not eligible for the partial industry classification exemption.)

To view a list of the partially exempt industries, go to
www.osha-slc.gov/OshStd_data/1904_New/1904_SUBPART_B_APP_A.html.

Exemptions: If a company had ten (10) or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, it does not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) informs you in writing that you must keep those records.  All employers covered by OSHA must report any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the hospitalization of three or more employees.

In addition to the small employer exemption, certain business establishments -- in particular industries are considered exempt from maintaining OSHA injury and illness records.  Generally, if a business establishment is classified in a specific low-hazard retail, service, finance, insurance, or real estate industry listed in 29 C.F.R.. 1904, Subpart B, Appendix A, it does not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless the government asks it to.

-- The old OSHA Forms 200 and 101 have been replaced by two new forms -- Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and Form 301 (OSHA Injury and Illness Incident Report). Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) serves as the annual summary.  Form 300A must be posted in a conspicuous area of the workplace where notices to employees are customarily posted beginning on February 1 of the year following the year to which the summary applies, and remain posted until April 30.

Covered employers are only required to record fatalities, injuries, and illnesses that: 1) are work-related; 2) are a new case; and 3) meet one or more of the general recording criteria.

An injury or illness meets the general recording criteria, and is thus recordable, if it results in any of the these things: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. 

A case also meets the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional -- even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.

For more information on this record-keeping standard, visit www.osha-slc.gov/recordkeeping/index.html.

While you are at OSHA's website for record-keeping information, you may also want to take a look at the agency's new workplace anthrax exposure guidance.  If you have employees who open mail, they may be a little nervous in light of the recent anthrax cases.  This guidance, called the Anthrax Matrix, aims to help employers assess the risk their workers face and suggests measures that can be taken to help protect them.

The Anthrax Matrix is at: www.osha.gov/bioterrorism/anthrax/matrix/index.html.