Question: 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 i

Answer:

Neither the seizures nor the broken arm are recordable. Injuries and illnesses that result solely from non-work-related events or exposures are not recordable under the exception in section 1904.5(b)(2)(ii). Epileptic seizures are a symptom of a disease of non-occupational origin, and the fact that they occur at work does not make them work-related. Because epileptic seizures are not work-related, injuries resulting solely from the seizures, such as the broken arm in the case in question, are not recordable.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: If an employee voluntarily takes work home and is injured while working at home, is the case recordable?

Answer:

No. Injuries and illnesses occurring in the home environment are only considered work-related if the employee is being paid or compensated for working at home and the injury or illness is directly related to the performance of the work rather than to the general home environment.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: 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?

Answer:

A case is work-related any time an event or exposure in the work environment either causes or contributes to an injury or illness or significantly aggravates a pre-existing injury or illness, unless one of the exceptions in section 1904.5(b)(2) applies. The work environment includes the establishment and other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment. The case in question would be work-related if the employee was injured as a result of an event or exposure at work, regardless of whether the injury occurred after normal work hours.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: What are "personal tasks" for purposes of the exception to the geographic presumption in section 1904.5(b)(2)(v)?

Answer:

"Personal tasks" for purposes of section 1904.5(b)(2)(v) are tasks that are unrelated to the employee's job. For example, if an employee uses a company break area to work on his child's science project, he is engaged in a personal task.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: What are "assigned working hours" for purposes of the exception to the geographic presumption in section 1904.5(b)(2)(v)?

Answer:

"Assigned working hours," for purposes of section 1904.5(b)(2)(v), means those hours the employee is actually expected to work, including overtime.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: 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)?

Answer:

Personal grooming activities are activities directly related to personal hygiene, such as combing and drying hair, brushing teeth, clipping fingernails and the like. Bathing or showering at the workplace when necessary because of an exposure to a substance at work is not within the personal grooming exception in section 1904.5(b)(2)(vi). Thus, if an employee slips and falls while showering at work to remove a contaminant to which he has been exposed at work, and sustains an injury that meets one of the general recording criteria listed in section 1904.7(b)(1), the case is recordable.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: Are cases of workplace violence considered work-related under the new Recordkeeping rule?

Answer:

The Recordkeeping rule contains no general exception, for purposes of determining work-relationship, for cases involving acts of violence in the work environment. However, some cases involving violent acts might be included within one of the exceptions listed in section 1904.5(b)(2). For example, if an employee arrives at work early to use a company conference room for a civic club meeting and is injured by some violent act, the case would not be work-related under the exception in section 1904.5(b)(2)(v).

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: If a maintenance employee is cleaning the parking lot or an access road and is injured as a result, is the case work-related?

Answer:

Yes, the case is work-related because the employee is injured as a result of conducting company business in the work environment. If the injury meets the general recording criteria of Section 1904.7 (death, days away, etc.), the case must be recorded.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: Does an employee report of an injury or illness establish the existence of the injury or illness for recordkeeping purposes?

Answer:

No. In determining whether a case is recordable, the employer must first decide whether an injury or illness, as defined by the rule, has occurred. If the employer is uncertain about whether an injury or illness has occurred, the employer may refer the employee to a physician or other health care professional for evaluation and may consider the health care professional's opinion in determining whether an injury or illness exists. [Note: If a physician or other licensed health care professional diagnoses a significant injury or illness within the meaning of §1904.7(b)(7) and the employer determines that the case is work-related, the case must be recorded.]

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.

Question: How can I find out if my State has an OSHA-approved plan?

Answer:

The following States have OSHA-approved plans: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Washington, and Wyoming. Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have plans that cover State and local government employees only.

For more information, explore OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements.