To Make a Report

• Call the nearest OSHA office.
• Call the OSHA 24-hour hotline at 1-800-321-6742 (OSHA).
• Report online (https://www.osha.gov/pls/ser/serform.html)

Source: OSHA

2016 Changes

On May 12, 2016, OSHA published the injury and illness reporting rule, known as “Improved Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” and it became effective January 1, 2017. This rule does not change the core requirements of the existing recordkeeping rule but  required identified establishments to submit their OSHA 300, 300A, or 301 forms to OSHA on an annual basis. The forms required are dependent on the size (number of employees) of each establishment covered:

• Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation must submit the 300, 300A and all 301 forms by March 2 of the year following data has been recorded.
• Establishments with 20-240 employees in certain high-risk industries must submit the 300A form by March 2 of the year following data has been recordedEstablishments of less than 20 employees do not need to report.

2019 Changes

On January 25, 2019 OSHA published a final rule that eliminates the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 and OSHA Form 301 to OSHA each year.  It became effective on February 25, 2019.  These establishments are still required to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A. 

OSHA felt this change was necessary to eliminate the possibility of sensitive information found on Forms 300 and 301 such as descriptions of workers’ injuries and body parts affected being disclosed to the public.  OSHA felt it will better protect personally identifiable information or data that could be re-identified with a particular worker.  OSHA also felt this change will allow it to focus on information gathered from their severe injury reporting initiative along with data collected from Form 300A.  This rule also eliminated the requirement to electronically submit an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the 300A form.

Scope of Recordkeeping Standard

Employers are classified by OSHA’s injury and illness recordkeeping requirements into one of three groups: employers regularly exempt from OSHA recordkeeping; employers exempted from preparing and maintaining injury and illness records; and employers that are not classified under the prior two groups.

Employers regularly exempt from OSHA recordkeeping includes small businesses with fewer than 11 full- or part-time employees during the previous calendar year and employers classified in low-hazard industries. However, these employers are required to report all inpatient hospitalizations and fatalities as required by 29 CFR 1904.39. In addition, if the employer is notified in writing by OSHA to participate in a statistical survey, the employer must maintain injury and illness records in accordance with 29 CFR 1904.41. Employers who receive a Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Form from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must promptly complete the form and return it (29 CFR 1910.42).

Employers exempted from preparing and maintaining injury and illness records include industries listed in Appendix A of Subpart B of the revised recordkeeping standard.

OSHA Form 300

The OSHA Form 300 log is used by each employer’s establishment to record and maintain information about employee injuries and illnesses. An establishment, as defined by OSHA, is a single physical location where business is conducted, or where services or industrial operations are performed; the place where employees report for work, operate from or from which they are paid.

The form itself is divided into three general sections: Identity (e.g. name, case number, job title), Descriptive (e.g. date, injury location, description of incident) and Classification (e.g. type of injury, days away from work, days on restriction).

Every injury or illness that meets the recording criteria must be entered as a new case on the OSHA 300 form and maintained as the case conditions change such as the number of days accumulated as transfer, restricted or away from work. If the status of the case changes, then the entry must be changed.  For example, if the injured employee is experiencing days away from work, then dies, the employer must remove (or line out) the days away entry and the day count and check the box for a fatality.

OSHA Form 301

If an injury or illness is recordable, a supplementary form (e.g. OSHA Form 301) must be completed. This form provides more information about the case. Such information as the events leading up to the injury or illness, body parts affected, object(s) or substance(s) involved, etc., must be included on this form.

Within seven calendar days after receiving information that a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred, a 301 incident report or equivalent must be completed.   Equivalent forms may be used if it contains the same information as OSHA Form 301. Examples of equivalent forms may come from: state workers’ compensation reports, insurance claim reports or the employer’s incident report form.

Process to Determine if a Case is Recordable

Employers are responsible for reporting all recordable injuries and illnesses. To help determine if an injury or illness is recordable, refer to the flow chart below. If you are unable to determine if an injury or illness is recordable, call the OSHA area office nearest you.