Updated 2024 OSHA Requirements – What You Should Know
By: Nicole Solecki
Due to concerns that employers are undercounting injuries and illnesses in the workplace, OSHA has stepped up enforcement and expanded the reporting requirements in high hazard industries. However, OSHA will not tell you if you are now a high hazard industry. A list of the industries can be found at OSHA’s reporting website known as the Injury Tracking Application which you can access by clicking on this link: ITA Coverage Application | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov)
OSHA 300 logs for 2023 as well as the OSHA 301 reports were due by March 2, 2024. If your business was unaware of the changes in recordkeeping, do not panic and do not backdate your records but update as soon as possible. Businesses should also audit injury and illness records for at least the past 5 years and correct logs. Audit certain workers’ compensation or other records to see if recordable injuries were overlooked. OSHA considers those updates a good faith effort by the business and will be less likely to penalize offenders. According to Laner and Muchin, Ltd. you may need an attorney to examine your industry to help you understand the reporting requirements for your business. If you were previously doing OSHA 300As you should continue to do so.
Be mindful that getting the data correct is important so that OSHA can examine the reasons behind any injuries and examine problem areas in your workplace to help you rectify hazards and unsafe conditions.
The new electronic submission requirement covers employers with 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries, including:
- Agriculture
- Construction
- Food and Beverage Manufacturing
- Healthcare and Elder Care Facilities
- Manufacturing
- Transportation
- Utilities
- Warehousing and Storage
OSHA does not want certain personal identifying information on the OSHA 300 log or OSHA 301 Report. Businesses should not include names, social security numbers, telephone numbers, home addresses, email addresses, or healthcare provider information.
When to and not to Report or Record
It is not necessary to report or record any incidents that only require first aid. First aid is defined as using non-prescription medication at non-prescription strength, tetanus immunizations, cleaning, flushing or soaking surface wounds, wound coverings, hot or cold therapy, non-rigid means of support, temporary immobilization device used to transport accident victims, and so on. Over reporting injuries could cause customers to select contractors and/or vendors based on injury and illness records. If there were no restrictions or loss of days working, the incident is not recordable.
If the answer is YES to all the following questions record the injury or illness:
- Did the employee experience an injury or illness?
- Is the injury or illness work related?
- Is the injury or illness a new case?
- Does the injury or illness meet the general criteria or the application specific cases?
An 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. It is NOT recordable if the employee is out of the United States and an injury or illness occurs. [Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses 1904.5]
General Recording Criteria [Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses 1904.7]
An injury or illness is recordable if it results in one or more of the following:
- Death (MUST be reported to OSHA within 8 hours)
- Days away from work (one or more, not including the day of injury/illness)
- Restricted work activity
- Transfer to another job
- Medical treatment beyond first aid
- Loss of consciousness
- Significant injury or illness diagnosed by a professionally licensed healthcare provider
10 Most Common OSHA 300 Recordkeeping errors [Laner Muchin, Ltd. Expanded OSHA Reporting Requirements Webinar February 2024]
- Insufficient detail describing the injury/event
- Failure to identify mirror image of multiple body parts
- Identifying more than one type of classification
- Incorrectly adding up page totals under the classification of the case
- Incorrectly identifying the type of injury or illness or checking more than one type
- Failing to fill in a “0” on the job transfer restriction column and days away from work column when there were no days away or transfer/restriction
- Failing to provide enough detail about the location of the injury
- Failing to fill in the correct establishment name on the form
- Failing to fill in the year on the form
- Improper signature/failure to sign 300A
To learn more about OSHA 300 and OSHA 300A requirements please review the Laner Muchin, Ltd. Webinar “Expanded OSHA Reporting Requirements Webinar February 2024”
