We continue yesterday’s review of OSHA’s recordkeeping rules, picking up with required reporting forms. And we also invite you to an audio conference that will provide you with practical, real-world solutions to your recordkeeping questions.
There are three primary OSHA injury and illness reporting forms: The 300 log, which replaces form 200; the 301 form, which replaces 101; and form 300A, a separate form used to display the annual summary. Here, using information from the OSHA website’s recordkeeping section, is an overview of each:
- The 300 log is a listing of all the injuries and illnesses at your site. You can maintain it on a computer or at another location as long as you can produce a copy at the workplace whenever it’s needed. You have 7 calendar days to fill in the form once you learn of a case.
- The 301 form is the individual record of a work-related injury or illness. You’ll fill out a new form for each case—again within 7 calendar days. You can use an equivalent form if you prefer.
- Form 300A is the summary of work-related injuries and illnesses. This is the one you post every year. The new rule requires a 3-month posting—February 1 to April 30. The summary must be certified by a company executive. That could be the owner, an officer of the corporation, the highest-ranking company official working at that site, or his or her supervisor. Top management needs to be aware of the injury and illness experience of the site and verify that the records are accurate.
Last year OSHA levied more than $825,000 in recordkeeping-related penalties. Don’t become the next victim. Join us March 27 for a special audio conference, OSHA Recordkeeping: Beyond the OSHA 300 Logs. Find out more.
Privacy Concerns
OSHA reporting rules provide privacy protections for workers. For example, you don’t enter the names of workers for sensitive cases such as injuries or illnesses involving an intimate body part or the reproductive system, sexual assault, HIV or hepatitis infection, tuberculosis, mental illness, or other similar cases. For these cases, you need to keep a separate, confidential identity list.
Regardless of the injury or illness, if you share your records with anyone not authorized by the rule to see them, you must remove employee names before doing so.
Record Retention
OSHA recordkeeping forms must be kept for 5 years following the year they cover. During that time you need to update the OSHA 300 form to include newly discovered cases or to show changes in old cases. You do not have to update the 301 and 300A forms. And be sure to transfer the recordkeeping forms if you sell your business.
Your employees need to know how to report a work-related injury or illness. That means you must set up a reporting system and tell all of your workers how to use it.
Access to Records
Workers and their representatives have a right to review the 300 log with all the names on it, (except, of course, the names for the privacy concern cases). Such requests must be granted no later than the end of the next business day. Workers, former workers, or personal representatives must be able to get copies of form 301 covering their own injuries or illnesses, also by the end of the next business day. You must provide records within 4 business hours to authorized government representatives such as OSHA inspectors or NIOSH investigators.
OSHA’s at the door—Are your records complete and up to date? Are you sure? Join us March 27 for an audio conference that will lead you through the OSHA recordkeeping maze. Find out more.
Your Questions Answered
When thinking about OSHA recordkeeping requirements, it’s easy to default to the OSHA 300 and 301 logs. But your recordkeeping requirements don’t end there. Are you sure you know everything you need to record? And how long to keep each piece of information?
Join us March 27 for a fast-paced, 90-minute audio conference, when we’ll provide practical, real-world answers to your OSHA recordkeeping questions. Our safety expert will give you sound, effective tips to create a recordkeeping and retention trail that will get you through the OSHA maze and help you reap the benefits of a safer workplace and safer workforce. You and your colleagues will learn:
- The records you need for statutory compliance
- Additional records recommended for best practices
- What records must be produced for an OSHA inspection—and what can and should be shielded
- How your records help you improve safe practices and employee performance
- Practical suggestions on why and how to maintain these records
- Risks and exposures you face by not having these records
Your speaker will be Adele Abrams, Esq., CMSP, REA, an attorney recognized as a national expert on occupational safety and health. She represents employers and contractors nationwide in OSHA and MSHA litigation and workers’ compensation cases, and provides safety and health training and consultation services. She is a Certified Mine Safety Professional, a Department of Labor-approved trainer, and a trained mediator. She is also a professional member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals, and the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation.
A full Q&A will follow the conference to answer your e-mailed or phoned-in questions. Can’t attend? Preorder the conference CD. Satisfaction is assured, or you get a full refund.
Date: Friday, March 27, 2009
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET (Adjust for your time zone.)