1. Keeping Your Business Informed and Prepared
Risk Management Bulletin
OSHA Recordkeeping
Employers must keep records of any work-related deaths, injuries, or illnesses unless exempt as describe below. They must also keep
records of their efforts to comply with OSHA and of their actions to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.
Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records
unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) informs them in writing that records must be kept. If an employer’s business is in
an industry that is classified as low hazard, the employer does not need to keep records unless OSHA or the BLS asks them to do so in
writing. If a company has several establishments engaged in different classes of business activities, some of the company’s establishments
may be required to keep records, while others may be exempt. Your Bukaty Agency representative can provide you a classification
exemption list.
Note, all employers, even those not covered by the recordkeeping requirements, must report to OSHA any accident that results in one or
more deaths or the hospitalization of three or more employees. You must make this report within eight hours of the accident.
Employers not exempt from reporting are required to use the Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses to classify work-related
injuries and illnesses and to note the extent and severity of each case. When an incident occurs, the Log is used to record specific details
about what happened and how it happened.
Employers are required to keep a separate Log (Form 300) and Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300A) for each
physical location that is expected to be in operation for one year or longer. The Injury and Illness Incident Report (Form 301) is filled out
when a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred. Together with the Form 300 and Form 300A, these forms help the employer
and OSHA develop a picture of the extent and severity of work-related incidents.
Employers must record work-related injuries and illnesses that result in:
• Death • Medical treatment beyond first aid
• Days away from work • Loss of consciousness
• Restricted work activity or job transfer
Employers must record any significant work-related injuries and illnesses that are diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health
care professional, such as any work-related case involving cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured or cracked bone or a
punctured eardrum.
Employers must record the following conditions when they are work-related:
• Any needle-stick injury or cut from a sharp object that is contaminated with another person’s blood or other
potentially infectious material
• Any case requiring an employee to be medically removed under the requirements of an OSHA health standard
• Work-related cases involving hearing loss under certain conditions
• Tuberculosis infection as evidenced by a positive skin test or diagnosis by a physician or other licensed health care
professional after exposure to a known case of active tuberculosis
Employers do not have to record certain injury and illness incidents such as a visit to a doctor solely for observation and counseling
or those requiring first aid treatment only. Your Bukaty Agency representative can provide you a list of non-recordable injury and
illness incidents.
Bukaty Companies
11221 Roe Ave., Ste. 200 | Leawood, KS 66211
Phone: 913.951.2400 | Toll-Free: 888.657.0440
www.bukatyagency.com