Written By Daniel Aday, CompOne Administrators Safety & Loss Prevention Specialist
Employers must become familiar with record requirements, reporting, and knowing when they are in compliance with federal, state, and local laws. Being out-of-compliance adds risk, putting your company into a situation where it may be forced to close. Law enforcement, federal and state officials and other regulatory enforcement rarely take lightly the negligence of companies that “just didn’t know better.” That is why staying on top of applicable laws and regulations, especially when it comes to safety, is critical. One set of laws that all employers should be aware of is OSHA and MIOSHA’s recordkeeping and reporting laws.
Amongst these laws there are requirements for reporting to OSHA/MIOSHA all severe injuries (within 24 hours), all work-related deaths (within 8 hours of the death), and recording your company’s illnesses and injuries within that calendar year. Recording of your company’s injuries and illnesses can be completed on the OSHA 300 log, with a summary of the injury recorded on the 300A log, and your incident reports on the 301 form. Any of these forms can be replaced with an equivalent form (such as a company-specific injury report, in place of a 301 form) as long as they are understandable and use the same instructions as the form they replace. These OSHA logs and forms are intended to demonstrate compliance with applicable OSHA/MIOSHA laws, act as means of information for researching and developing new standards and for aiding in determining cause and prevention of injuries and illnesses. Although keeping these forms up-to-date takes time and effort, having these requirements holds all employers accountable.
Although all employers need to ensure a safe working environment that is free of recognized hazards and report serious injuries and fatalities, only employers with 10 employees or more (at any one given time within the year) are required to actively update and maintain these OSHA/MIOSHA forms. Those who are exempt from required updating of these forms and logs are: employers with 9 or less employees, employers who fall into a specific industry group that is listed in “Appendix A” of MIOSHA Part 11, or those who have a written note from OSHA/MIOSHA excluding their exact company.
The OSHA 300A form, which is the single page that shows the summary of work-related injuries and illnesses, needs to be posted in a conspicuous place or places where notices to all employees are usually posted. The 300A should be posted in these locations for the previous year, no later than February 1st of the following year, up until April 30th (3 months). Failure to do any of these for the non-exempt employers may result in a citation from OSHA/MIOSHA. Additionally, the 300A needs to be submitted annually – electronically to OSHA – by employers who have 250 or more employees or employers with 20 or more employees and within a specific classified industry listed in MIOSHA Part 11, “Appendix B.” Some of the industries listed that must report are construction, manufacturing, lessors of real estate, servicers to buildings and dwellings and many more.
I am often asked what needs to be recorded on the OSHA 300 log. Death, in-patient hospitalization and loss time need to be recorded as well as injuries that result in means of job transfer or restrictions due to an injury, illness, or work limitations (aside from just the single day of the incident). Additionally, injuries that result in hearing loss, skin disorders, respiratory conditions, poisoning, or injuries that required more than first aid care. Beyond first aid care would be considered the use of a prescription strength drug, stitches, physical therapy, and much more.
If you or your company need any assistance with OSHA/MIOSHA logs and forms, with determining applicability of recordable injuries, or any other safety assistance, you may contact us at Safety@CompOne.net.