The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently reminded employers that beginning February 1, they must post a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred last year. Employers are only required to post the summary (OSHA Form 300A) – not the OSHA 300 Log – from February 1 to April 30, 2005.
The summary must list the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2004 and were logged on the OSHA 300 form. Employment information about annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year is also required to assist in calculating incidence rates. Companies with no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2004 must post the form with zeros on the total line. All establishment summaries must be certified by a company executive.
The form is to be displayed in common areas where notices to employees are usually posted. Employers must make a copy of the summary available to employees who move from worksite to worksite, such as construction workers, and employees who do not report to any fixed establishment on a regular basis.
Employers with ten or fewer employees and employers in certain industry groups are exempt from federal OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping and posting requirements. A complete list of exempt industries in the retail, services, finance, and real estate sectors is posted on OSHA’s Web site.
Exempted employers may still be selected by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics to participate in an annual statistical survey. All employers covered by OSHA need to comply with safety and health standards and must report verbally within eight hours to the nearest OSHA office all accidents that result in one or more fatalities or in the hospitalization of three or more employees.
Copies of OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301 are available on the OSHA recordkeeping Web page in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet format.
Council’s Workers Comp Update 2005 and The Complete Survival Guide to Workers’ Comp are programs that can provide you with risk-prevention and claims-management best practices, critical compliance tips, and cost-cutting strategies. For agendas, dates, and locations, click on the links above.