Under OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation, certain covered employers are required to prepare and maintain records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses using the OSHA 300 Log. This information is important for employers, workers and OSHA in evaluating the safety of a workplace, understanding industry hazards, and implementing worker protections to reduce and eliminate hazards.
Is your organization required to prepare and maintain records under current rules?
To find out if you are required to prepare and maintain records under the updated rule, first determine your NAICS code by:
Using the search feature at the U.S. Census Bureau NAICS main webpage. In the search box for the most recent NAICS, enter a keyword that describes your business. Choose the primary business activity that most closely corresponds to you, or refine your search to get more choices.
Viewing the most recent complete NAICS tables on the U.S. Census Bureau NAICS main webpage. Select the two-digit sector code and choose a six-digit industry code to read its definition.
NOTE: Establishments in companies with 10 or fewer employees at all times in the previous year continue to be exempt from keeping OSHA records, regardless of their industry classification. The partial exemption for size is based on the number of employees in the entire company.
the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA Form 300),
the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA Form 300A), and
the Injury and Illness Incident Report (OSHA Form 301).
Employers must fill out the Log and the Incident Report only if a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred. Employers must fill out and post the Summary annually, even if no recordable work-related injuries or illnesses occurred during the year.
In place of the OSHA forms, employers may also use equivalent forms (forms that have the same information, are as readable and understandable, and are completed using the same instructions as the OSHA forms they replace). Many employers use an insurance form instead of the Incident Report, or supplement an insurance form by adding information required by OSHA.
Published by Mathew W. Burr, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR
Matthew Burr has over eleven years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was spent in manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor and employment relations. Matthew has a generalist background in HR and provides strategic HR services to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. In July 2017, Matthew started as an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Elmira College and was promoted into the Continuing Education & Business Administration Department Liaison role in July 2018. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate level business courses at Elmira College. Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor at the college, his students currently have an 80% pass rate on the SHRM-SCP and 92.3% pass rate on the SHRM-CP. Matthew works as a trainer Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College and Penn State University. He also acts as an On-Call Mediator and Fact-Finder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions.
Matthew has publications at the Cornell HR Review, Business Insider, New York State Bar Association, Expert 360 (in Australia). In early 2017, he published his first book, “$74,000 in 24 Months: How I killed my student loans (and you can too!).”
Matthew has an associate's degree in business administration from Tompkins Cortland Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Elmira College, a master's degree from the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations in Human Resources & Industrial Relations and a Master’s in Business Administration specializing in entrepreneurship from Syracuse University. He currently holds a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) and the Society of Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certifications.
Matthew has been featured on CNN Money, Fast Company, Fits Small Business, Magnify Money, My Twin Tiers, Namely, Student Loan Hero, Smart Sheet and CEO Blog Nation.
View all posts by Mathew W. Burr, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR