OSHA Recordkeeping Overview

Employers, unless partially exempted as a small business or low-hazard industry, are required to keep records of occupational deaths, injuries, and illness under the OSH Act of 1970. OSHA uses the records to direct programs, measure its performance, and help inspectors focus their efforts on hazards in the workplace.

Accurate records can also help employers to develop safety and health initiatives tailored to their individual workplaces.

OSHA uses Form 300, Form 300A, and Form 301 for injury and illness recordkeeping:

• OSHA Form 300 is the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
• OSHA Form 300A is the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
• OSHA Form 301 is the Injury and Illness Incident Report

OSHA requires employers to save the OSHA 300 Log, any privacy case logs, and the OSHA 301 Incident Report forms for five years. You must also update the 300 Log to reflect any changes within that five year period. Employers need to be able to produce accurate records within four hours of a request by an authorized government representative.

In a nutshell, employers must record injuries and illness that are:

1. Work-related,
2. New, and
3. Meet the following criteria:
   • Death
   • Days away from work
   • Job transfer or restricted work
   • Medical treatment beyond first aid
   • Any loss of consciousness
   • Significant injury as diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health case professional

Since each situation is unique to each establishment, determining the recordability of each case can be a challenge. View sample scenarios that may help you make the determination on whether your particular case is recordable under the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping regulations.

Who needs to send injury and illness data to OSHA electronically?

Certain employers must send their injury and illness data electronically to OSHA. Establishments with 250 or more employees must submit information from Form 300A by March 2 every year for the previous year's form (i.e., March 2, 2020, for the 2019 information). Establishments with between 20 and 249 employees in certain “high-risk industries,” as identified by NAICS code, must submit information electronically from their Form 300A. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, that information must be submitted by March 2.

When does the 300A summary need to be posted?

The 300A summary be posted by February 1. Below is the full OSHA recordkeeping timeline.

• November–January: Review the OSHA 300 Log to verify that entries are complete and accurate. Correct any deficiencies. Create and certify an annual summary of injuries and illnesses recorded on Form 300.
• February 1: OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) must be posted where notices are customarily posted no later than February 1. This annual summary must be kept in place until April 30.
• March 2: Date by which affected employers must electronically submit data from the 300A Summary to OSHA.
• April 30: Annual summary (300A Form) no longer needs to be posted.

When do injuries and illnesses need to be reported to OSHA?

All employers, even employers that are partially exempted from the Part 1904 recordkeeping requirements, must report to OSHA work-related fatalities and severe injuries. Report a work-related fatality within 8 hours of the fatality, of you learning about it, or of you learning it was work-related. Report a work-related in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. Report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye using one of the following methods:

• By telephone or in person to the nearest OSHA Area Office
• By telephone to the OSHA toll-free central number: 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742)
• By electronic submission using the reporting application found at www.osha.gov

Reportable injuries and illnesses may also be recordable on OSHA’s Form 300 Log.