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SAFETY SOLUTIONS: Posting of OSHA Notices
It is that time of year when employers are required to
post the annual OSHA Form 300. As a reminder, your
company may be required to post an OSHA Form
and illnesses that occurred at your place of business in
2012. The posting period is from February 1 through
April 30, 2013. Many times employers do not know what
needs to be recorded so I will review the basic requirements
below. For a more detailed description of the OSHA
requirements for Form 300 see “Posting of OSHA
Notices” under the Safety Solutions section on our website
or go to www.osha.gov.
1904.7(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an
injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and
therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following:
death, days away from work, restricted work or
transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first
aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a
case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a
significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or
other licensed health care professional, even if it does not
result in death, days away from work, restricted work or
job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of
consciousness.
1904.7(b) Implementation.
1904.7(b)(1) How do I decide if a case meets
one or more of the general recording criteria? A
work-related injury or illness must be recorded if it results
in one or more of the following:
1904.7(b)(1)(i) Death. See § 1904.7(b)(2).
1904.7(b)(1)(ii) Days away from work. See §
1904.7(b)(3).
1904.7(b)(1)(iii) Restricted work or transfer to another job. See § 1904.7(b)(4).
1904.7(b)(1)(iv) Medical treatment beyond first aid.
See § 1904.7(b)(5).
1904.7(b)(1)(v) Loss of consciousness. See §
1904.7(b)(6).
1904.7(b)(1)(vi) A significant injury or illness diagnosed
by a physician or other licensed health care professional.
See § 1904.7(b)(7).
Note to § 1904.7: OSHA believes that most significant
injuries and illnesses will result in one of the criteria
listed in § 1904.7(a): death, days away from work,
restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond
first aid, or loss of consciousness. However, there are
some significant injuries, such as a punctured eardrum or
a fractured toe or rib, for which neither medical treatment
nor work restrictions may be recommended. In addition,
there are some significant progressive diseases, such as
byssinosis, silicosis, and some types of cancer, for which
medical treatment or work restrictions may not be recommended
at the time of diagnosis but are likely to be recommended
as the disease progresses. OSHA believes that
cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked
bones, and punctured eardrums are generally considered
significant injuries and illnesses, and must be recorded at
the initial diagnosis even if medical treatment or work
restrictions are not recommended, or are postponed, in a
particular case.
If you need help with understanding OSHA requirements
or you need a safety, health and environmental
audit conducted for your company, then please contact us
for advice. As a subscriber to the magazine, Podojil &
Associates offer substantial discounts for our services to
readers.
Additional OSHA publications, including specific topics
for small businesses are available or can be
ordered online. Additional resources of information on
safety-related topics and programs include:
- National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health - www.cdc.gov/niosh
- Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety -
www.ccohs.ca
- National Safety Council - www.nsc.org
- American Society of Safety Engineers - www.asse.org
- Podojil & Associates (www.podojilconsulting.com) has
free safety topics, training materials, monthly toolbox
talks, safety checklists and PowerPoint programs
that you can download free.
For more information, click on the author biography at the top of the page.
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