OSHA Updates Requirements for Reporting and Documenting Injuries – OSHA Regulations

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in September an updated rule that requires employers to notify OSHA when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a severe injury. Severe injuries are defined as amputation, loss of an eye, or an injury that requires a work-related hospitalization. Employers will have eight hours to notify OSHA of a fatality, and 24 hours to notify OSHA of a single severe injury.

In addition to the reporting requirements, OSHA has also updated the list of industries that, due to relatively low occupational injury and illness rates, are exempt from the requirement to routinely keep records of worker injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log. The OSHA 300 log provides a summary of work-related injuries and illnesses during a calendar year.

The previous list of exempt industries was based on the old Standard Industrial Classification system (Offices and clinics of dentists – 8021); the new rule uses the North American Industry Classification System (Dentists’ offices – 6212) to classify establishments by industry. Dentists’ offices are still exempt under the new classification.

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