OSHA recordkeeping and workplace injury reporting
Employers with more than ten employees keep injury records and report the most serious events within hours.
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- 29 CFR PART 1904
OSHA recordkeeping: who keeps records, and what counts
If you had more than 10 employees at any time last year, 29 CFR Part 1904 requires OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301. A case is recordable if it is work-related, new, and meets a criterion such as days away, restricted work or treatment beyond first aid. Every employer must still report fatalities and severe injuries.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.29 AND 1904.30
OSHA Form 300: the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
The OSHA 300 Log lists each recordable work-related injury and illness at one establishment. Enter each case on its own line within 7 calendar days, marked by its most serious outcome. Show 'privacy case' instead of a name for a short list of sensitive cases. Keep each Log five years after the year it covers.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.29(B)(2) AND 1904.35(B)(2)(V)
OSHA Form 301: the Injury and Illness Incident Report
OSHA Form 301 is the incident report for one recordable case. Complete it within 7 calendar days of learning of the case, and keep it five years. A workers' compensation report with the missing information added can stand in. An employee must get their own 301 by the end of the next business day.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.32
OSHA Form 300A: the annual Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
The OSHA 300A totals the year's 300 Log for one establishment. A company executive certifies it. Post it where employee notices go from February 1 through April 30, even with no cases, and keep it five years. An intranet posting alone does not satisfy the rule.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.7(B)(5)
Recordable vs first aid: where OSHA draws the medical treatment line
OSHA's first aid list is closed. A work-related injury needing only that care is not recordable on that basis. Anything else, such as prescription medication, sutures, rigid immobilization or most vaccines, is medical treatment and makes a new work-related case recordable. What was done matters, not who did it.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.39
Reporting fatalities and severe injuries to OSHA (29 CFR 1904.39)
Every employer must report a work-related death to OSHA within 8 hours. Report an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours, if it happens within 24 hours of the incident. Call the nearest OSHA office or 1-800-321-6742, or use the online form. Emergency room treatment alone, or observation alone, is not reportable.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1910.147
Lockout/tagout (29 CFR 1910.147): the program and what to capture after an event
29 CFR 1910.147 requires an energy control program: documented procedures, worker training and inspections at least once a year. Machines must stay isolated and inoperative while people service them. Construction and agriculture are not covered. A lockout event still triggers recording, possible OSHA reporting, retraining and a procedure review.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1910.1200
Hazard communication (29 CFR 1910.1200): SDS, labels, training and incident records
The Hazard Communication Standard requires a written program, labels and worker training. It also requires a safety data sheet (SDS) for each hazardous chemical, readily accessible every shift. It applies wherever workers may be exposed to a hazardous chemical. Revised provisions have staged compliance dates from May 19, 2026 to May 19, 2028.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1910.119(M)
Process safety incident investigation (29 CFR 1910.119(m))
Covered employers must investigate every incident that resulted in, or could reasonably have resulted in, a catastrophic release of a highly hazardous chemical (29 CFR 1910.119(m)). Start as promptly as possible, no later than 48 hours after the incident. Use a team with someone who knows the process. Write a report, resolve the findings and keep it five years.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.35 AND OSH ACT SECTION 11(C)
Employee injury reporting and retaliation: 29 CFR 1904.35 and OSH Act section 11(c)
Employers must give workers a reasonable way to report injuries and illnesses, promptly and accurately. Every worker must be told how to use it, and that reporting is safe from retaliation. A way to report is not reasonable if it would deter a reasonable employee. Section 11(c) adds a 30-day window to file a complaint.
OSHARead the guide - OSHA FORMS 300 AND 300A; BLS SURVEY OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND ILLNESSES, TABLE 1 (2024)
TRIR and DART rates: how to calculate them and what BLS 2024 national rates show
TRIR is recordable cases times 200,000, divided by hours worked. The 200,000 is 100 full-time workers at 40 hours for 50 weeks. DART counts only cases with days away, restricted work or transfer. BLS reported 2024 private industry rates of 2.3 total recordable cases and 1.4 DART cases per 100 full-time workers (release dated January 22, 2026).
OSHA and BLSRead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.41
OSHA electronic submission (29 CFR 1904.41): who submits what, and when
Some establishments must send injury data to OSHA by March 2 each year, through the Injury Tracking Application. Form 300A covers 20 to 249 employees in Appendix A industries, and 250 or more employees. Forms 300 and 301 are added at 100 or more employees in Appendix B industries. Most small or partially exempt sites do not submit.
OSHARead the guide - 29 CFR 1904.30, 1904.31 AND 1904.46
Construction recordkeeping: how OSHA Part 1904 applies to job sites and subcontractors
Construction is not partially exempt, so contractors with more than 10 employees keep OSHA records. A job site that will last a year or longer is its own establishment with its own 300 Log. Shorter jobs can share one log. The employer that supervises a worker day to day records and reports that worker's injuries, whatever the contract says.
OSHARead the guide
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