# FAQ
1 Question 0-1 - Why are employers required to keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.0
2 Question 337 - How can I find out if my State has an OSHA-approved plan? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.37
3 Question 339 - Does an employee report of an injury or illness establish the existence of the injury or illness for recordkeeping purposes? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.4
4 Question 340 - If a maintenance employee is cleaning the parking lot or an access road and is injured as a result, is the case work-related? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
5 Question 341 - Are cases of workplace violence considered work-related under the new Recordkeeping rule? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
6 Question 342 - What activities are considered "personal grooming" for purposes of the exception to the geographic presumption of work-relatedness in section 1904.5(b)(2)(vi)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
7 Question 343 - What are "assigned working hours" for purposes of the exception to the geographic presumption in section 1904.5(b)(2)(v)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
8 Question 344 - What are "personal tasks" for purposes of the exception to the geographic presumption in section 1904.5(b)(2)(v)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
9 Question 345 - If an employee stays at work after normal work hours to prepare for the next day's tasks and is injured, is the case work-related? For example, if an employee stays after work to prepare air-sampling pumps and is injured, is the case work-related? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
10 Question 346 - If an employee voluntarily takes work home and is injured while working at home, is the case recordable? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
11 Question 347 - If an employee's pre-existing medical condition causes an incident which results in a subsequent injury, is the case work-related? For example, if an employee suffers an epileptic seizure, falls, and breaks his arm, is the case covered by the exception in section 1904.5(b)(2)(ii)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
12 Question 348 - This question involves the following sequence of events: 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? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
13 Question 349 - How does OSHA define a "company parking lot" for purposes of Recordkeeping? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
14 Question 350 - An employee experienced an injury or illness in the work environment before they had "clocked in" for the day. Is the case considered work related even if that employee was not officially "on the clock" for pay purposes? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
15 Question 351 - Is work-related stress recordable as a mental illness case? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
16 Question 353 - How is an employer to determine whether an employee has "recovered completely" from a previous injury or illness such that a later injury or illness of the same type affecting the same part of the body resulting from an event or exposure at work is a "new case" under section 1904.6(a)(2)? If an employee's signs and symptoms disappear for a day and then resurface the next day, should the employer conclude that the later signs and symptoms represent a new case? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.6
17 Question 357 - An employee hurts his or her left arm and is told by the doctor not to use the left arm for one week. The employee is able to perform all of his or her routine job functions using only the right arm (though at a slower pace and the employee is never required to use both arms to perform his or her job functions). Would this be considered restricted work? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
18 Question 358 - Are surgical glues used to treat lacerations considered "first aid?" - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
19 Question 359 - Item N on the first aid list is "drinking fluids for relief of heat stress." Does this include administering intravenous (IV) fluids? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
20 Question 360 - Is the use of a rigid finger guard considered first aid? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
21 Question 361 - If an employee dies or is injured or infected as a result of terrorist attacks, should it be recorded on the OSHA Injury and Illness Log? Should it be reported to OSHA? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.5
22 Question 362 - Once an employer has recorded a case involving days away from work, restricted work or medical treatment and the employee has returned to his regular work or has received the course of recommended medical treatment, is it permissible for the employer to delete the Log entry based on a physician's recommendation, made during a year-end review of the Log, that the days away from work, work restriction or medical treatment were not necessary? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
23 Question 363 - If a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends medical treatment, days away from work or restricted work activity as a result of a work-related injury or illness can the employer decline to record the case based on a contemporaneous second provider's opinion that the recommended medical treatment, days away from work or work restriction are unnecessary, if the employer believes the second opinion is more authoritative? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
24 Question 364 - Section 1904.7(b)(5)(ii) of the rule defines first aid, in part, as "removing splinters or foreign material from areas other than the eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs or other simple means." What are "other simple means" of removing splinters that are considered first aid? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
25 Question 365 - How long must a modification to a job last before it can be considered a permanent modification under section 1904.7(b)(4)(xi)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
26 Question 366 - If an employee loses his arm in a work-related accident and can never return to his job, how is the case recorded? Is the day count capped at 180 days? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
27 Question 367 - If an employee who routinely works ten hours a day is restricted from working more than eight hours following a work-related injury, is the case recordable? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
28 Question 369 - Is the employer subject to a citation for violating section 1904.7(b)(4) (viii) if an employee fails to follow a recommended work restriction? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
29 Question 370 - Are work-related cases involving chipped or broken teeth recordable? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
30 Question 371 - How would the employer record the change on the OSHA 300 Log for an injury or illness after the injured worker reached the cap of 180 days for restricted work and then was assigned to "days away from work"? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
31 Question 372 - Does the employer have to record a work-related injury and illness, if an employee experiences minor musculoskeletal discomfort, the health care professional determines that the employee is fully able to perform all of his or her routine job functions, but the employer assigns a work restriction to the injured employee? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
32 Question 374 - If an employee leaves the company after experiencing a work-related injury or illness that results in days away from work and/or days of restricted work/job transfer how would an employer record the case? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
33 Question 378 - Can you clarify the relationship between the OSHA recordkeeping requirements and the requirements in the Bloodborne Pathogens standard to maintain a sharps injury log? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.8
34 Question 379 - Can I use the OSHA 300 Log to meet the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard's requirement for a sharps injury log? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.8
35 Question 380 - If an employee suffers a Standard Threshold Shift (STS) in only one ear, may the employer revise the baselines for both ears? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.10
36 Question 381 - Which baseline is used to determine if a recordable Standard Threshold Shift (STS) has occurred this year? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.10
37 Question 382 - If an employee experienced a recordable hearing loss case, where would the employer record the case on the OSHA 300 Log? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.10
38 Question 383 - What rules must an employer ensure that a physician or other licensed health care professional use to make a determination that a hearing loss case is not work-related under section 1904.10(b)(6)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.10
39 Question 384 - How do I determine whether or not a case is an occupational injury or one of the occupational illness categories in Section M of the OSHA 300 Log? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29
40 Question 385 - Does the employer decide if an injury or illness is a privacy concern case? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29
41 Question 386 - Under paragraph 1904.29(b)(9), the employer may use some discretion in describing a privacy concern case on the log so the employee cannot be identified. Can the employer also leave off the job title, date, or where the event occurred? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29
42 Question 387 - May employers attach missing information to their accident investigation or workers' compensation forms to make them an acceptable substitute form for the OSHA 301 for recordkeeping purposes? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29
43 Question 388 - If an employee reports an injury or illness and receives medical treatment this year, but states that the symptoms first arose at some unspecified date last year, on which year's log do I record the case? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29
44 Question 389 - Since the new system proposes to do away with the distinction between injuries and illnesses, is there guidance on how to classify cases to complete column M on the OSHA 300 Log? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29
45 Question 390 - How is the term "supervised" in section 1904.31 defined for the purpose of determining whether the host employer must record the work-related injuries and illnesses of employees obtained from a temporary help service? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.31
46 Question 391 - If a temporary personnel agency sends its employees to work in an establishment that is not required to keep OSHA records, does the agency have to record the recordable injuries and illnesses of these employees? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.31
47 Question 392 - How do I calculate the "total hours worked" on my annual summary when I have both hourly and temporary workers? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.32
48 Question 393 - If an employer has no recordable cases for the year, is an OSHA 300-A, Annual Summary, still required to be completed, certified and posted? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.32
49 Question 394 - If employers electronically post the OSHA 300-A Summary of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses, are they in compliance with the posting requirements of 1904.32 (b) (5)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.32
50 Question 395 - How does an employer inform each employee on how he or she is to report an injury or illness? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.35
51 Question 397 - Do I have to follow these rules if my State has an OSHA-approved State Plan? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.37
52 Question 398 - How may state regulations differ from the Federal requirements? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.37
53 Question 399 - Are State and local government employers covered by this rule? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.37
54 Question 401 - When a work-related heart attack occurs in the workplace and the employee dies one or more days later, how should the case be reported to OSHA? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
55 Question 402 - What is considered a "construction work zone" for purposes of section 1904.39(b)(3)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
56 Question 480 - Do I have to give my employees and their representatives access to the OSHA injury and illness records? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.35
57 Question 591 - How do the 2007 to 2012 NAICS coding changes for the Full and Limited Service Restaurant Industries affect the exemption status of establishments in these industries? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.2
58 Question 593 - Do States with OSHA-approved State plans have the same industry exemptions as Federal OSHA? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.2
59 Question 594 - How do I determine the correct NAICS code for my company or for individual establishments in my company? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.2
60 Question 597 - What is meant by the "loss of an eye"? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
61 Question 598 - Does loss of an eye include loss of sight? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
62 Question 599 - How do you differentiate between an amputation without bone and avulsions? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
63 Question 600 - If an injured worker is formally admitted to the Emergency Room of a hospital, is this a reportable event? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
64 Question 601 - If an employee is admitted to the hospital for Carpal Tunnel surgery, is this reportable? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
65 Question 602 - Who determines whether an employee was formally admitted to the in-patient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
66 Question 603 - Who should report a fatality or in-patient hospitalization of a temporary worker? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
67 Question 604 - If my employee spent the night at the hospital, do I have to report an in-patient hospitalization? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
68 Question 605 - If an employee is hospitalized as an in-patient and the only care or treatment provided is from OSHA's "first aid list" (for example if the only treatment is non-prescription medication), does the event become reportable? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.39
69 May I use a different form as an acceptable substitute for the OSHA Form 300-A Annual Summary? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.32
70 May I use a different form as an acceptable substitute for the OSHA forms for recordkeeping purposes? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29
71 An employee has a work-related shoulder injury resulting in days of restricted work activity. While working on restricted duty, the employee sustains a foot injury which results in a different work restriction. How would the employer record these cases? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
72 An employee is provided antibiotics for anthrax, although the employee does not test positive for exposure/infection. Is this a recordable event on the OSHA log? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
73 An employee tests positive for anthrax exposure/infection and is provided antibiotics. Is this a recordable event on the OSHA log? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
74 An employee's normal shift is 6:00 PM to 2:30 AM. The employee starts his shift at 6:00PM on Monday and sustains a work-related injury at 12:30AM Tuesday. The injury results in the employee going to a physician who excuses the employee from work for Tuesday and allows the employee to return to work at 6:00 PM on Wednesday. Does this case involve days away from work or days of restricted work activity? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
75 Are injuries and illnesses recordable if they occurred during employment, but were not discovered until after the injured or ill employee was terminated or retired? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
76 Are sutures used to treat lacerations considered "first aid?" - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
77 Are work-related human bites recordable on the OSHA form 300 when the skin is broken, and the wound is bleeding? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
78 Does the size or degree of a burn determine recordability? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
79 For medications such as Ibuprofen that are available in both prescription and non-prescription form, what is considered to be prescription strength? How is an employer to determine whether a non-prescription medication has been recommended at prescription strength for purposes of section 1904.7(b)(5)(i)(C)(ii)(A)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
80 How many calendar days are to be counted in the case of a work-related fatal injury or illness? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
81 If an employee dies during surgery made necessary by a work-related injury or illness, is the case recordable? What if the surgery occurs weeks or months after the date of the injury or illness? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
82 If an employee has an adverse reaction to a smallpox vaccination; is it recordable under OSHA's recordkeeping rule? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
83 If an employee has x-rays or other diagnostic procedures, does that make a case recordable? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
84 If an employee is exposed to chlorine or some other substance at work and oxygen is administered as a precautionary measure, is the case recordable? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
85 If an employee who sustains a work-related injury requiring days away from work is terminated for drug use based on the results of a post-accident drug test, how is the case recorded? May the employer stop the day count upon termination of the employee for drug use under section 1904.7(b)(3) (viii)? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
86 May an employer keep the OSHA injury and illness records for all their establishments at the headquarters. - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.30
87 My establishment is in an industry listed on the “Non-Mandatory Appendix A to Subpart B - Partially Exempt Industries” but that NAICS code no longer exists in the 2017 NAICS coding system. Does that mean I need to start filling out the recordkeeping forms - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.2
88 The old rule required the recording of all occupational illnesses, regardless of severity. For example, a work-related skin rash was recorded even if it didn't result in medical treatment. Does the rule still capture these minor illness cases? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.7
89 May an employer use a 3rd party (e.g. insurance company, accountant, private safety consultant) to complete and maintain the OSHA Forms? - 1904 - Table of Contents, 1904.29