Scenario: One of your employees injured his foot at work on a Thursday. Your physician said he could not work and scheduled a follow-up appointment on the following Tuesday. The physician would then determine if your employee could return to work or would need to be away longer. The employee was not scheduled to work on Saturday or Sunday, but was scheduled to be at work on Monday.

Question: Since your employee was not scheduled to work on the weekend, do you need to record this time as part of the days away from work?

Answer: Yes, Saturday and Sunday need to be recorded and are part of the calendar days your employee was unable to work. 29 CFR 1904.7 (b)(c)(iv) states:

“How do I count weekends, holidays, or other days the employee would not have worked anyway? You must count the number of calendar days the employee was unable to work as a result of the injury or illness, regardless of whether or not the employee was scheduled to work on those day(s). Weekend days, holidays, vacation days or other days off are included in the total number of days recorded if the employee would not have been able to work on those days because of a work-related injury or illness.”

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Scenario: One of your employees was hit in the mouth by an object while he was performing his normal work duties. However, his dental bridge was damaged. He has not wanted any medical or dental treatment.

Question 1: Would damage to a denture in the presence of no other discernable injury be considered a recordable injury requiring entry on the OSHA 300 log even when medical treatment is not administered?

Response 1: Damage only to an employee’s denture would not be a recordable injury. Section 1904.7(b) provides that a work-related injury or illness must be recorded on the OSHA 300 Log if it results in death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a serious injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

Section 1907.7(b)(7) provides that only a physician or other licensed health care professional can diagnose a serious or significant injury or illness. Work-related cases involving cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured or cracked bone, or a punctured eardrum must always be recorded under the general criteria at the time of diagnosis by a physician or other licensed health care professional. OSHA believes that cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked bones, and punctured eardrums are generally considered significant injuries and illnesses, and must be recorded at the initial diagnosis even if medical treatment or work restrictions are not recommended.

As discussed in the preamble of the Recordkeeping final rule, work-related fractures of bones or teeth are recognized as constituting significant diagnoses and, if the condition is work-related, are appropriately-recorded at the time of initial diagnosis even if the case does not involve any of the other general recording criteria (Federal Register/Vol. 66, No. 13/Friday, January 19, 2001/Rules and Regulations/page 5995). Thus, for purposes of Part 1904, injuries and illnesses are limited to disorders and abnormal conditions related to a person. Damage to artificial or mechanical devices, such as dentures, eye glasses, canes, or prosthetic arms or legs, would not be considered an injury or illness under Part 1904.

Question 2: In the context of repair to a denture, what type of activity would be considered medical treatment?

Response 2: Again, repair or replacement of an artificial device, such as a denture would not be considered a recordable injury or illness under Part 1904.

Under section 1904.7(b)(5)(i), “medical treatment means the management and care of a patient to combat disease or disorder. For the purposes of Part 1904, medical treatment does not include: Visits to a physician or other licensed health care professional solely for observation or counseling; the conduct of diagnostic procedures, such as x-rays and blood tests, including the administration of prescription medications used solely for diagnostic purposes (e.g., eye drops to dilate pupils); or “First aid” as defined in paragraph (b)(5)(ii) of this section.”

Any condition (of the employee) that is treated, or that should have been treated, with a treatment not on the first aid list is a recordable injury or illness for recordkeeping purposes. Repair or replacement of a denture would only be considered medical treatment if the treatment met the criteria in Section 1904.7(b)(5) and it was administered to the employee.

Question 3: Would simple repair to a denture meet the threshold for the definition of medical treatment?

Response 3: No. As noted above, the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping requirements at Part 1904 require the reporting and recording of injuries and illnesses to employees.

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OSHA is proposing $145,800 in penalties against SKAPS Industries for 32 safety and health violations that exposed workers to possible injury or death at their three locations in Athens, Commerce and Pendergrass, Ga.

SKAPS Industries is a fabricator of geosynthetic and nonwoven drainage products for environmental and civil use. The Athens and Pendergrass plants are each being cited for one willful violation with a proposed penalty of $44,000 for audiograms not being conducted annually for exposing workers to harmful noise. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

The three locations are being cited with a total of 24 serious violations and $51,800 in proposed penalties for not developing or implementing a written hazards communication program, having unmarked emergency exits, not instructing the affected operators with lockout and tag-out requirements and a lack of protection from arc welding rays and electrical hazards. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Additionally, the Pendergrass plant is receiving four other-than-serious violations carrying a $3,000 fine for not correctly filling out OSHA 300 logs for calendar year 2007-2009 and not maintaining separate 300 logs for 2007-2009. The Commerce facility has been given one other-than-serious violation with a proposed penalty of $3,000 for not correctly filling out OSHA 300 logs for calendar year 2006-2008. The Athens and Pendergrass locations are each receiving one other-than-serious violation for not posting hearing conservation standards in the workplace, with no penalty assessed, but the company is required to make the necessary changes to bring it into compliance with all OSHA standards.

“This company should not wait until a serious injury or death occurs to any of its more than 225 employees before making needed changes in its safety procedures,” said Gei-Thae Breezley, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “When a company persists in ignoring its responsibilities, OSHA will step in to protect workers’ safety.”

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Scenario 1: Employee A drives to work, parks her car in the company parking lot and is walking across the lot when she is struck by a car driven by employee B, who is commuting to work. Both employees are seriously injured in the accident. Is either case work-related?

Response:  Neither employee’s injuries are recordable. While the employee parking lot is part of the work environment under section 1904.5, injuries occurring there are not work-related if they meet the exception in section 1904.5(b)(2)(vii). Section 1904.5(b)(2)(vii) excepts injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents occurring on the company parking lot while the employee is commuting to and from work. In the case in question, both employees’ injuries resulted from a motor vehicle accident in the company parking lot while the employees were commuting. Accordingly, the exception applies. 

Scenario 2: Employee C commutes from home to work and parks his personally-owned vehicles in the company controlled parking lot. The employee opened the driver side door and started to exit his car when he caught his right foot on the raised door threshold. The employee subsequently fell onto the parking lot surface and sustained a right knee cap injury that required medical treatment.  

Response: Section 1904.5(a) provides that an injury or illness must be considered work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the injury or illness or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Section 1904.5(b)(1) defines the work environment as the establishment and other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment. Work relatedness is presumed under Part 1904 for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in Section 1904.5(b)(2) specifically applies.  Under OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation, company parking lots and company access roads are included within the definition of “establishment.” (See the preamble to the January 19, 2001 final rule revising OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation, 66 Federal Register 6076, and OSHA’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 5-10 at http://www.osha.gov/).

In scenario 2, while the employee sustained injuries in the company parking lot, the case did not involved a motor vehicle accident. Instead, the employee was injured when he fell out of his parked vehicle and struck the parking lot surface (work environment). As a result, this case does not meet the exception in Section 1904.5(b)(2)(vii), and, therefore, must be recorded on the establishment’s log, if it meets the other recording criteria listed in the regulation (e.g., medical treatment, days away from work, etc.).




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Scenario: An employee knits a sweater for her daughter during the lunch break. She lacerates her hand and needed sutures. She is engaged in a personal task. 

Question: Are lunch breaks or other breaks considered “assigned working hours?” Is the case recordable?

Response: This case must be recorded because it does not meet the exception to work-relatedness in Section 1904.5(b)(2)(v) for injuries that occur in the work environment but are solely due to personal tasks. For the “personal tasks” exception to apply, the injury or illness must 1) be solely the result of the employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to their employment) and 2) occur outside of the employee’s assigned working hours. OSHA clarified in a January 15, 2004 letter of interpretation that Section 1904.5(b)(2)(v) does not apply to injuries and illnesses that occur during breaks in the normal work schedule. Here, the exception does not apply because the injury occurred during the employee’s lunch break.

To see the entire text go to the linked Letter of Interpretation.

Blogger Comments: Now the irony here is if the same employee cut herself pealing her apple with a knife during lunch, then it would not be considered recordable.

1904.(b)(2)(iv) Injuries and illnesses will not be considered work-related if they are solely the result of an employee eating, drinking, or preparing food or drink for personal consumption (whether bought on the premises or brought in).

Even going a step further this is another excerpt from the OSHA Recordkeeping Handbook to allow a case to not be recordable. I think you will find this goes against the comments in the above response.

(iii) Injuries and illnesses will not be considered work-related if they result solely from voluntary participation in a wellness program or in a medical, fitness, or recreational activity such as blood donation, physical, flu shot, exercise classes, racquetball, or baseball. This exception allows the employer to exclude cases that are related to personal matters of exercise, recreation, medical examinations or participation in blood donation programs when they are voluntary and are not being undertaken as a condition of work. For example, if a clerical worker was injured while performing aerobics in the company gymnasium during his or her lunch hour, the case would not be work-related.

Anyone else see the irony of this situation? How knitting a sweater for her daughter during lunch is a condition of work? And why do employers struggle with what is or isn’t recordable by OSHA standards?

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Scenario: An employee is injured while participating in go-cart racing, which occurred during an off-site company sponsored team-building event. Employees were required to attend the off-site meeting and lunch, but were then free to choose among the following options: (1) participating in the team-building event; (2) returning to the office to finish the work day; or (3) taking a ½-day vacation.

Questions: Is an injury incurred during the go-cart racing considered to be work-related? Is the answer any different if an employee elects to stay for the go-cart racing but is not required to participate and is injured while watching the racing?

Response: Under Section 1904.5(b)(1), OSHA defines the work environment as “the establishment and other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment. The work environment includes not only physical locations, but also the equipment or materials used by the employee during the course of his or her work.”

In the scenario presented, the employee is at the go-cart facility as a condition of employment. Therefore, he or she is in the work environment and any injury or illness that arises is presumed to be work-related and must then be evaluated for its recordability under the general recording criteria. This holds true for both participating in and observing the races.

Is Horseplay an OSHA recordable?

Scenario: Two of your supervisors completed their work for the day and had entered the change trailer to change clothes and proceed home. There was some bantering back and forth concerning how to beat the traffic at shift’s end. The discussion escalated into a physical confrontation where one supervisor allegedly pulled a knife and struck the other in the right bicep, causing a laceration that required sutures to close.

Question: Is the injury the one employee received an OSHA recordable or not?

Here is OSHA’s Response: Under 29 CFR Subpart C, “Recordkeeping Forms and Recording Criteria,” an injury must be recorded if it is work-related, is a new case, and meets one or more of the general recording criteria (such as requiring medical treatment beyond first aid). See 29 CFR §1904.4(a). An injury is presumed to be work-related if it results from an event occurring in the work environment, unless an enumerated exception to this geographic presumption applies. See 29 CFR §1904.5(a). The work environment includes any location where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment. See 29 CFR §1904.5(b)(1). We assume that the supervisors were in the change trailer as a part of their work or as a condition of their employment. If our assumption is correct, the injury resulted from an event (the altercation between the two supervisors) occurring in the work environment and was thus work-related. When a work-related injury requires treatment beyond first aid, it is recordable unless it falls within one of the §1904.5(b)(2) exceptions to the geographic presumption.Violence in the workplace does not generally qualify as an exception. OSHA’s Frequently Asked Question 5-2 (found at http://osha.gov/recordkeeping/detailedfaq.html#1904.4 ) provides guidance on this issue.

To see OSHA’s entire response click here.

OSHA requires several documents and written programs to be accessible to all employees.  This includes Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Bloodborne Pathogens, and Permit Required Confined Spaces.  In the past, documents were required to be printed out and stored in a binder.  Frequently, multiple copies needed to be printed for different buildings or locations creating document control problems, like pages being out of order or ripped out by employees.  Other frustrations included outdated documents in circulation, extensive time required to update all the copies, and being known as the “tree killer” when approaching the copy machine. Now that we are well into the digital age, OSHA has thankfully recognized the need for some businesses to shift away from paper.  In a Standard Interpretation Letter dated September 16, 2008, OSHA states that employee access to written programs may be in paper or electronic format.  Where a standard requires that the written program be made available to employees, they must know how to easily access the documents without any barriers.  The program must meet all other requirements of the standard.   

However, it may not be that simple!  An OSHA Letter of Interpretation dated 10/28/1996 states that when computers are used for MSDS access, employees must be trained on how to obtain the information, and the employer must integrate the system into their overall hazard communication program.  This could be a major hurdle for some employers if their workforce is uncomfortable or unfamiliar with computers.   The same letter also states that employers should provide a backup computer system when the main system is down for short periods of time for maintenance, repair, or power disruption.  Providing a backup system to the main computer or printing a hard copy set of MSDS’s before shutting down the system would meet the standard’s intent.  To comply with these requirements, an employer would still be required to print a complete set of MSDS sheets or create a computer system which has an independent power source, such as a generator, and have databases stored on a server and local drive!                     

Your Form 300A Must Be Posted as of February 1

On February 1 of each year, employers with 10 or more employees must post the OSHA-required Form 300A, which summarizes an employer’s reportable injuries and illnesses for the prior year. The Form 300A posting period is February 1 to April 30. An employer subject to this requirement must post the OSHA 300A even if the employer had no reportable injuries/illnesses in the prior year.

All of the data required for the OSHA 300A is taken from the Form 300. Form 300 is not posted as it contains confidential medical information. Employees with no fixed work site or no access to posted sites, such as field sales reps, must be provided with a copy of the report.

Some industries are partially exempt from keeping the Form 300A.  A list of partially exempt industries may be found at www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/ppt1/RK1exempttable.html.  Please note that regardless of their size or industry exemption, if an employer had a workplace injury, fatality, or hospitalization of three or more employees in the prior year, the employer must post the Form 300A.

OSHA provides information on its recordkeeping and posting requirements on its Web site at www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/index.html.  There you will find Frequently Asked Questions on the requirements, as well as the “OSHA Recordkeeping Handbook” and the recordkeeping forms. The most recent forms are dated as revised in January, 2004.

In a recent letter of interpretation from OSHA several recordkeeping scenerios were addressed.  Here is a summary of the scenerios and the condensed responses from OSHA.

Scenario 1: An employee who performs office clerical work injures her knee in a work-related accident. She has out-patient surgery one month after the knee injury and is released by her doctor with the only restriction being: “May work at home.” The company sets up a computer and forwards her business phone to the employee’s house so she can work while recovering from surgery. The employee works from home, but does not work the full 8 hours during the work day. The employee was able to perform all of her routine job functions from home during this time.

Question 1: Should the days that the employee is performing clerical services for the company from her home be treated as restricted work activity or days-away-from work?

Answer 1: Based on the information described in your letter and assuming that the employee does not work from home as part of her normal work schedule, the case should be recorded as days away from work. In your scenario, the employer has made the determination that the employee cannot work in the office, but allows her to work from home while she recovers from surgery. In other words, the employer has made a decision that the employee needs days away (from the office) in order to recover from a work-related injury.  

Scenario 2: An employee arrives at work and parks his car in the company parking lot. As the employee is getting out of his car, he inadvertently slams the car door on his finger, and the injury requires “medical treatment.”

Question 2: Is this injury considered part of the commute to work under §1904.5(b)(2)(vii) and, thus, not work-related, or should this injury be considered a work-related injury?

Answer 2: The employee’s injury did not result from a motor vehicle accident during his commute. Instead, the employee was injured when he slammed the car door on his finger. As a result, the case does not meet the exception in Section 1904.5(b)(2)(vii), and, therefore, is work-related. Because the employee received “medical treatment,” the case meets the general recording criteria in Section 1904.7(b)(5) and must be recorded on the establishment’s OSHA 300 Log.

Scenario 3: An employee suffers a knee injury as a result of a work-related fall March 15. The employee is seen by a physician and is diagnosed with a contusion and treated with “first aid.” On April 15, the employee retires from her job for reasons wholly unrelated to the injury. On June 15, the employee is continuing to have knee pain from the March 15 fall. The employee undergoes surgery (medical treatment) on July 15 to treat the March 15 work-related knee injury.

Question 3: (a) Given that the employee’s employment terminated April 15, and this termination was unrelated to the injury, does the March 15 case nevertheless become recordable based on the “medical treatment” that occurs on July 1?
(b) If so, should any days-away-from-work be recorded, and if so, how many such days.
(c) If day’s away-from-work should be recorded, shouldn’t there also be additional hours of work attributed to the facility so that the incidence rate calculation provided for in the OSHA Recordkeeping instructions will be accurate. That is, if days are recorded on the Log for events post termination, shouldn’t hours for those same events also be considered when determining “Number of hours worked by all employees?”

Answer 3: The case should be recorded because it occurred while the worker was still employed. The case met the recording criteria in July when the injury required medical treatment. Work-related injuries and illnesses that meet the recording criteria are recordable throughout the five year record retention and updating period set forth in Section 1904.33. (See OSHA’s FAQ 7-20) .  Since the recording criteria in Section 1904.7 were met when the employee received “medical treatment,” the case should be recorded on the OSHA Log in column J – “Other recordable cases.” No lost work time resulted from this injury because the employee was already retired.