OSHA Recordkeeping, Reporting

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OSHA Recordkeeping, Reporting Inspections

• INSY 3020
• Spring 2005

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OSHA Recordkeeping

• Revised Recordkeeping rule published in the
  Federal Register on January 19, 2001
• Affects 1.4 million establishments
• Effective January 1, 2002

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1904.1 Size Exemption

• Based on the entire companys peak employment
  during last calendar year
• If at any time during the previous calendar year
  a company had 11 or more full-time workers, they
  will not be size exempt from recordkeeping.

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Remember the Basics

• Difference between Reportable and Recordable
  injuries
• A case is both reportable and recordable if it
  includes a fatality or a catastrophe (3 or more
  employees injured and hospitalized).
• Every other injury involving restriction or
  transfer to another job or days away from work is
  recordable only.

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1904.4 Recording Criteria

• Covered employers must record each fatality,
  injury or illness that
• Is work-related, and
• Is a new case, and
• Meets one or more of the criteria contained in
  sections 1904.7 through 1904.11

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Work-Relatedness

• Cases are work-related if
• An event or exposure in the work environment
  either caused or contributed to the resulting
  condition.
• An event or exposure in the work environment
  significantly aggravates a pre-existing injury or
  illness.

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Day Counts

• Eliminates the term lost workdays and focuses
  on days away or days restricted or transferred
• Includes new rules for counting that rely on
  calendar days instead of workdays.

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DAFWII DART

• DAFWII Days Away From Work, Injury or Illness
• Actual of calendar days between first day
  missed due to injury returning day
• Do not count the day of injury
• DART Days Away, Restricted or Transfer
• Includes days of missed work as well as days of
  light duty, etc.
• Generally a larger number than DAFWII

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Why Change to Calendar Days?

• Easier to calculate
• More consistent data
• Better measure of severity

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Recording Criteria Flowchart
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Travel Status

• Any injury or illness that occurs while an
  employee is on travel status is work-related if
  it occurred while the employee was engaged in
  work activities in the interest of the employer.

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OSHA Forms

• OSHA Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and
  Illnesses
• Useful for calculating accident rates often
  requested by OSHA during an inspection
• OSHA Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident
  Report
• Detailed investigation of incidents
• OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries
  and Illnesses
• Posted in workplace for employee reference

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Consider a Case

• An employee, Steve, goes to work
• He supervises a paint shop and during
  maintenance, he slips and hits his head against
  the wall. He reports a headache and he is
  transferred to a different job.
• After 12 days, he again complains that he cannot
  work due to the increasing headaches and is
  rushed to the hospital.
• After 4 days at the hospital, he dies

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What to do?

• Is it reportable?
• How will you record?

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OSHA Compliance Inspections

• Workplace inspections are triggered to verify
  compliance with OSHA standards.
• Inspections are almost always conducted without
  prior notice.
• It is generally not in the employers best
  interest to bar Compliance Safety and Health
  Officers (CSHO) entrance.
• Though, employers do have this right
• Warrants can be obtained in as little as 48 hours.

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Inspection Priorities

• Investigation of Imminent Dangers
• Catastrophic and Fatal
• Investigation of Employee Complaints
• Programmed High-Hazard Inspections
• Re-inspections

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Violations

• The General Duty Clause.
• Willful Violations.
• Knowingly acting out of compliance.
• Serious Violations.
• Could cause death or serious physical harm.
• Four step process
• The type of accident or health hazard

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Violations

• The type of injury expected.
• Injury could cause death or permanent injury.
• Whether the employer knew or should have known
  through due diligence (if the inspector found it,
  the employer should have found it, too).
• Other-Than-Serious Violations.
• Would not be expected to cause death or serious
  physical harm.
• Does have a direct effect on employees health
  and safety.

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Violations

• Repeated Violations.
• Being cited for a violation that had been
  previously cited or for a substantially similar
  condition.
• De Minimis Violations.
• Trivial violations.
• Usually only elicits a letter of warning.

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Citations

• The written document that
• Describes the specific nature of the alleged
  violation,
• Cites the standard allegedly violated, and
• Fixes a time for abatement.
• Citations for serious violations generally carry
  monetary penalties.

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Citations

• Citations should be posted near each place an
  alleged violation referred to in the citation.
• A copy of citation shall remain until the
  violation has been abated, or for 3 working days,
  whichever is later.
• An employer failing to comply with these
  provisions shall be subjected to citation and
  penalty.

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Penalties

• 7,000 to 70,000 for serious to repeated or
  willful violations.
• Egregious Policy
• If OSHA considers the apparent violations as
  flagrant, fines for each individual violation may
  be assessed rather than for each type of
  violation.
• Generally based upon a high accident/ injury rate
  or a large number of violations.

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Contested Cases

• Employers have the right to contest any OSHA
  action.
• Employers can contest citations or penalties
  before Occupational Safety and Health Review
  Commission (OSHRC)
• Employer or employee contesting the citation
  should notify the Area Director in writing within
  15 working days of the day of issue of penalty.

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Questions Comments