Record-Keeping Requirements

RECORD-KEEPING REQUIREMENTS

by Bill Grieb

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 requires specified employers to prepare and maintain records of occupational injuries and illnesses.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for administering the record-keeping system established by the Act. The OSH Act and record-keeping regulations in 29 CFR 1904 provide specific recording and reporting requirements, which comprise the framework of the OSH recording system.

The OSH Act covers nearly all employers in the private sector. It covers work performed in a workplace in the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Wake Island, Outer Continental Shelf Lands (defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act), Johnson Island, and the Canal Zone.

Two forms are used for OSHA record-keeping. The OSHA No. 200 form serves two purposes:

The other form, the Supplementary Record of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA No. 101) provides additional information on each of the cases that have been recorded on the log.

OSHA No. 200 is used for recording and classifying occupational injuries and illnesses and for noting the extent and outcome of each case. It shows when the injury or illness occurred, to whom, what the person's regular job was at the time of the exposure, the department in which the person was employed, the kind of injury or illness, how much time was lost, whether the case resulted in a fatality, and so forth. The log consists of three sections:

The portion of the OSHA No. 200 form to the right of the dotted vertical line is used to summarize injuries and illnesses for the previous calendar year. Every nonexempt employer who is required to keep OSHA records must prepare an annual summary for his or her establishment, based on the information contained in the log.

The summary is prepared by totaling the column entries on the log (or its equivalent) and signing and dating the certification portion of the form at the bottom of the page.

Employers must post a copy of the summary in their establishments. The summary covering the previous calendar year shall be posted no later than February 1, and shall remain in place until March 1.

Failure to post a copy of the annual summary may result citations and penalties, pursuant to Sections 9 and 17 of the Act. Such notice(s) shall be posted by the employer in a conspicuous place or wherever notices to employees are customarily posted. Each employer shall take steps to ensure that such notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by other material.

For every injury or illness entered on the log, it is necessary to record additional information on the supplementary record, OSHA No. 101. The supplementary record describes how the injury or illness exposure occurred, lists the objects or substances involved, and indicates the nature of the injury or illness and the part(s) of the body affected.

Ordinarily, injury and illness records must be kept for each establishment covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The regulations require that records be located and maintained to assist government agencies in administering and enforcing the act, to increase employer and employee awareness, and to prevent injury and illness.

Both logs and summaries, OSHA Nos. 200 and 101, must be kept for every physical location of operations, depending on whether the employees are associated with fixed establishments. They must be retained in each establishment for five calendar years following the end of the year to which they relate.

In addition to keeping the log on a calendar-year basis, employers are required to update this form to reflect changes that occur in recorded cases after the end of the calendar year. Maintenance or updating of the log is different from retention of records (discussed previously).

Although all OSHA injury and illness records must be retained, only the log must be maintained by the employer. If, during the five-year retention period, the extent or outcome of an injury or illness changes enough to affect an entry on a previous year's log, the first entry should be lined out and corrected. New entries-for previously unrecorded cases that were either just discovered found to have developed to record-worthy status after the end of the year they occurred-should also be made on that log. For cases that are later found to be unworthy of recording, the entire entry should be lined out. Log totals should be modified to reflect any changes.

Employers are required to record information about

• loss of consciousness
• restriction of work or motion
• transfer to another job
• medical treatment (other than first aid)

This definition provides sufficient guidance for the analysis of the vast majority of cases.

The decision-making process consists of five steps:

• If the case is an illness, record it and check the appropriate illness category on the log.
• If the case is an injury, decide if it is record-worthy based on the finding of medical treatment, loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to another job.

The following are generally considered medical treatment. Work-related injuries for which this type of treatment was provided or should have been provided are almost always worthy of recording:

• Treatment of INFECTION
• Application of ANTISEPTICS during second or subsequent visit to medical personnel
• Treatment of SECOND- OR THIRD-DEGREE BURN(S)
• Application of SUTURES (stitches)
• Application of BUTTERFLY ADHESIVE DRESSING(S) or STERISTRIPS(S) in lieu of sutures
• Removal of FOREIGN BODIES EMBEDDED IN EYE
• Removal of FOREIGN BODIES FROM WOUND; if procedure is COMPLICATED because of depth of embedment, size, or location
• Use of PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS (except a single dose administered on first visit for minor injury or discomfort)
• Use of hot or cold SOAKING THERAPY during second or subsequent visit to medical personnel
• Application of hot or cold COMPRESS(ES) during second or subsequent visit to medical personnel
• CUTTING AWAY OF DEAD SKIN (surgical debridement)
• Application of HEAT THERAPY during second or subsequent visit to medical personnel
• Use of WHIRLPOOL BATH THERAPY during second or subsequent visit to medical personnel
• POSITIVE X-RAY DIAGNOSIS (fractures, broken bones, etc.)
• ADMISSION TO A HOSPITAL or equivalent medical facility FOR TREATMENT

The following treatments are generally considered first aid (that is, they are performed on minor injuries in a one-time treatment, with subsequent observation). They should not be recorded if the work-related injury does not involve loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to another job:

• Application of ANTISEPTICS during first visit to medical personnel
• Treatment of FIRST-DEGREE BURN(S)
• Application of BANDAGE(S) during first visit to medical personnel
• Use of ELASTIC BANDAGE(S) during first visit to medical personnel
• Removal of FOREIGN BODIES NOT EMBEDDED IN EYE if only irrigation is required
• Removal of FOREIGN BODIES FROM WOUND if procedure is UNCOMPLICATED-for example, by tweezers or some other simple technique
• Use of NONPRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS and administration of a single dose of PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION on first visit for minor injury or discomfort
• SOAKING THERAPY on initial visit to medical personnel or removal of bandages by SOAKING
• Application of hot or cold COMPRESS(ES) during first visit to medical personnel
• Application of OINTMENTS to abrasions to prevent drying or cracking
• Application of HEAT THERAPY during first visit to medical personnel
• Use of WHIRLPOOL BATH THERAPY during first visit to medical personnel
• NEGATIVE X-RAY DIAGNOSIS
• OBSERVATION of injury during visit to medical personnel

"A Brief Guide to Record-keeping Requirements for Occupational Injuries and Illnesses"-as well as OSHA 200 and OSHA 101 forms-are available without charge by calling (202) 219-4667.