The deadline to post your OSHA Form 300A is coming up fast. If you’re an employer required to keep Form 300 (the Injury and Illness log), then you’re also required to post Form 300A, the summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. Form 300A should be posted in a workplace common area, and must remain there from February 1 to April 30.
All covered employers should also post their 2016 annual summary
by February 1, 2017. If you need this form, it can be downloaded from OSHA’s website. Form 300A reports an employer’s total number of deaths, missed workdays, job transfers or restrictions, and injuries and illnesses as recorded on Form 300. It will also include the number of workers in your employ, and the total hours they worked for the year.
Who is Required to Post OSHA Form 300A?
If you’re a nonexempt employer with more than 10 employees, the rules around Form 300A apply. If your business employs fewer than 10 workers, or if your business falls into an exempted category, you’ll still need to record injuries if they are reported to OSHA or the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Keep in mind that it’s only the summary that must be posted. The log itself doesn’t need to be displayed, but it still needs to be available for inspection by employees, their representatives, or OSHA investigators. If you’re an employer with multiple job sites, you should keep a separate log and summary for each location that you expect to be operational for at least a year.
Please note that some low-hazard industries are exempt from this requirement. Check this list to see if you’re included in this exemption.
Posting Period
The 300A summary must be posted at each job site in a conspicuous area from February 1 to April 30. This means it should be placed in an area where employees are accustomed to seeing notices. If you have employees who don’t regularly report to a fixed location, you will need to provide them with copies of your 300A summary.
Even if your establishment had no recordable injuries or illnesses, you’ll still need to certify the 300A summary and post the form, which will show zeros in the appropriate lines.
Reportable Injuries
Businesses are not required to report injuries that result from activities which are only incidental to work responsibilities. What should be reported are those serious injuries which are the direct result of workplace activity, or due to work duties.
Reportable injuries include those that result in a fatality, loss of consciousness, days away from work, a restricted work schedule or job transfer, a significant injury or illness diagnosis by a healthcare provider, or an injury that required medical treatment beyond basic first aid. Please note, however, that if a minor injury did not require such treatment it should not be reported.
If the injury being reported is also of a sensitive nature, such as a sexual assault, then employers should write “privacy case” in the box for the worker’s name.
OSHA has continued to focus on record-keeping in its National Emphasis Programs, so employers should review the forms to ensure that all recordable incidents have been included. Companies are required to update and maintain records for five years, plus the current year, and provide them to OSHA investigators for inspection upon request.
If you have any questions about Form 300A or about reportable injuries, please contact your Axiom team today at 844-587-1019.