b) Implementation
1) Recording Required
A work-related injury or illness must be recorded if it
results in one or more of the following:
A) Death (see subsection (b)(2)).
B) Days away from work (see subsection
(b)(3)).
C) Restricted work or
transfer to another job (see subsection (b)(4)).
D) Medical treatment beyond first aid (see
subsection (b)(5)).
E) Loss of
consciousness (see subsection (b)(6)).
F) A significant injury or illness diagnosed
by a physician or other licensed health care professional (see subsection
(b)(7)).
2) Employee
Death
The employer must record an injury or illness that results in
death by entering a check mark on the OSHA 300 Log in the space for cases
resulting in death. He or she must also report any work-related fatality to
IDOL within 8 hours, as required by Section
350.410.
3) Days Away from Work
When an injury or illness involves one or more days away from
work, record the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log with a check mark in the
space for cases involving days away and an entry of the number of calendar days
away from work in the number of days column. If the employee is out for an
extended period of time, enter an estimate of the days that the employee will
be away and update the day count when the actual number of days is known. Begin
counting days away on the day after the injury occurred or the illness
began.
4) Advice of Health
Care Professional
A) When a physician or other
licensed health care professional recommends that the worker stay at home but
the employee comes to work anyway, record the injuries and illnesses on the
OSHA 300 Log using the check box for cases with days away from work and enter
the number of calendar days away recommended by the physician or other licensed
health care professional. If the licensed health care professional recommends
days away, encourage the employee to follow that recommendation. The days away
must be recorded whether or not the employee follows the licensed health care
professional's recommendation. If recommendations are received from 2 or more
licensed health care professionals, the employer must decide which is the most
authoritative and record the case based upon that recommendation.
B) When a licensed health care professional
recommends that the worker return to work but the employee stays at home
anyway, end the count of days away from work on the date the physician or other
licensed health care professional recommends that the employee return to
work.
5) Non-Work Days
A) The number of calendar days the employee
was unable to work as a result of the injury or illness shall be counted,
regardless of whether the employee was scheduled to work on those days. Weekend
days, holidays, vacation days or other days off are included in the total
number of days recorded if the employee would not have been able to work on
those days because of a work-related injury or illness.
B) When a worker is injured or becomes ill on
a Friday and reports to work on a Monday, and was not scheduled to work on the
weekend, record the case only if the employer receives information from a
licensed health care professional indicating that the employee should not have
worked or should have performed only restricted work during the weekend. The
injury or illness must be recorded as a case with days away from work or
restricted work and the day counts must be entered, as appropriate.
6) Day Before Scheduled Time Off
When a worker is injured or becomes ill on the day before
scheduled time off, such as a holiday, planned vacation, or temporary closing,
the case needs to be recorded only if the employer receives information from a
licensed health care professional indicating that the employee should not have
worked, or should have performed only restricted work, during the scheduled
time off. The injury or illness shall be recorded as a case with days away from
work or restricted work and the day counts shall be entered, as
appropriate.
7) Limitation
on Days Counted
A) The employer may cap the
total days away at 180 calendar days. The employer is not required to keep
track of the number of calendar days away from work if the injury or illness
resulted in more than 180 calendar days away from work and/or days of job
transfer or restriction. In such a case, entering 180 in the total days away
column will be considered adequate.
B) The employer may stop counting days if an
employee who is away from work because of an injury or illness retires or
leaves employment. If the employee leaves employment for some reason unrelated
to the injury or illness, such as retirement, or to take another job, stop
counting days away from work or days of restriction/job transfer. If the
employee leaves because of the injury or illness, estimate the total number of
days away or days of restriction/job transfer and enter the day count on the
OSHA 300 Log.
C) If a case occurs
in one year but results in days away during the next calendar year, only record
the injury or illness once. Enter the number of calendar days away for the
injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log for the year in which the injury or
illness occurred. If the employee is still away from work because of the injury
or illness when the annual summary is prepared, estimate the total number of
calendar days the employee is expected to be away from work, use this number to
calculate the total for the annual summary, and update the initial log entry
later when the day count is known or reaches the 180-day cap.
8) Restricted Work or Job Transfer
A) When an injury or illness involves
restricted work or job transfer but does not involve death or days away from
work, record the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log by placing a check mark
in the space for job transfer or restriction and entering the number of
restricted or transferred days in the restricted workdays column. Restricted
work occurs when, as the result of a work-related injury or illness:
i) The employer keeps the employee from
performing one or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or from
working the full workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to
work; or
ii) A physician or other
licensed health care professional recommends that the employee not perform one
or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or not work the full
workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to work.
B) For recordkeeping purposes, an
employee's routine functions are those work activities the employee regularly
performs at least once per week.
C)
Do not record restricted work or job transfers if the employer or the licensed
health care professional imposes the restriction or transfer only for the day
on which the injury occurred or the illness began.
D) A recommended work restriction is
recordable only if it affects one or more of the employee's routine job
functions. To determine whether this is the case, evaluate the restriction in
light of the routine functions of the injured or ill employee's job. If the
restriction from the employer or licensed health care professional keeps the
employee from performing one or more of his or her routine job functions or
from working the full workday the injured or ill employee would otherwise have
worked, the employee's work has been restricted and the case must be
recorded.
E) A partial day of work
is recorded as a day of job transfer or restriction for recordkeeping purposes,
except for the day on which the injury occurred or the illness began.
F) The case is not considered restricted work
if the injured or ill worker produces fewer services than he or she would have
produced prior to the injury or illness but otherwise performs all of the
routine functions of his or her work. The case is considered restricted work
only if the worker does not perform all of the routine functions of his or her
job or does not work the full shift that he or she would otherwise have
worked.
G) Restrictions from a
licensed health care professional may be vague, such as limiting the employee
to only "light duty" or instructing the employee to "take it easy for a week".
If the licensed health care professional's recommendation is not clear, ask
whether the employee can do all of his or her routine job functions and work
all of his or her normally assigned work shift. If the answer to both of these
questions is "yes", the case does not involve a work restriction and does not
have to be recorded as such. If the answer to one or both of these questions is
"no", the case involves restricted work and must be recorded as a restricted
work case. If you are unable to obtain this additional information from the
licensed health care professional who recommended the restriction, record the
injury or illness as a case involving restricted work.
H) If a licensed health care professional
recommends a job restriction meeting the definition, but the employee does all
of his or her routine job functions anyway, record the injury or illness on the
OSHA 300 Log as a restricted work case. If a licensed health care professional
recommends a job restriction, ensure that the employee complies with that
restriction. If recommendations are received from 2 or more physicians or other
licensed health care professionals, make a decision as to which recommendation
is the most authoritative and record the case based upon that
recommendation.
I) Job Transfers
i) If an injured or ill employee assigned to
a job other than his or her regular job for part of the day, the case involves
transfer to another job. This does not include the day on which the injury or
illness occurred.
ii) Both job
transfer and restricted work cases are recorded in the same box on the OSHA 300
Log. EXAMPLE: if the employer assigns, or a licensed health care professional
recommends that the employer assign, an injured or ill worker to his or her
routine job duties for part of the day and to another job for the rest of the
day, the injury or illness involves a job transfer. Record an injury or illness
that involves a job transfer by placing a check in the box for job
transfer.
J) Count days
of job transfer or restriction in the same way days away from work are counted,
using subsection (b)(3) through (b)(7). The only difference is that, if the
injured or ill employee is assigned to a job that has been modified or
permanently changed in a manner that eliminates the routine functions the
employee was restricted from performing, stop the day count when the
modification or change is made permanent. You must count at least one day of
restricted work or job transfer for the cases.
9) Medical Treatment Beyond First Aid
A) If a work-related injury or illness
results in medical treatment beyond first aid, record it on the OSHA 300 Log.
If the injury or illness did not involve death, one or more days away from
work, one or more days of restricted work, or one or more days of job transfer,
enter a check mark in the box for cases in which the employee received medical
treatment but remained at work and was not transferred or restricted.
B) Medical treatment means the management and
care of a patient to combat disease or disorder. For the purposes of this
Subpart B, medical treatment does not include:
i) Visits to a physician or other licensed
health care professional solely for observation or counseling;
ii) The conduct of diagnostic procedures,
such as x-rays and blood tests, including the administration of prescription
medications used solely for diagnostic purposes (e.g., eye drops to dilate
pupils); or
iii) First aid as
defined in subsection (b)(9)(C).
C) For the purposes of Subpart B, first aid
means the following:
i) Using a
non-prescription medication at non-prescription strength (for medications
available in both prescription and non-prescription form, a recommendation by a
licensed health care professional to use a non-prescription medication at
prescription strength is considered medical treatment for recordkeeping
purposes);
ii) Administering
tetanus immunizations (other immunizations, such as Hepatitis B vaccine or
rabies vaccine, are considered medical treatment);
iii) Cleaning, flushing or soaking wounds on
the surface of the skin;
iv) Using
wound coverings such as bandages, Band-Aids, gauze pads, etc., or using
butterfly bandages or Steri-Strips (other wound closing devices such as
sutures, staples, etc., are considered medical treatment);
v) Using hot or cold therapy;
vi) Using any non-rigid means of support,
such as elastic bandages, wraps, non-rigid back belts, etc. (devices with rigid
stays or other systems designed to immobilize parts of the body are considered
medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes);
vii) Using temporary immobilization devices
while transporting an accident victim (e.g., splints, slings, neck collars,
back boards, etc.);
viii) Drilling
of a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure or draining fluid from a
blister;
ix) Using eye
patches;
x) Removing foreign bodies
from the eye using only irrigation or a cotton swab;
xi) Removing splinters or foreign material
from areas other than the eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs or other
simple means;
xii) Using finger
guards;
xiii) Using massages
(physical therapy or chiropractic treatment are considered medical treatment
for recordkeeping purposes); or
xiv) Drinking fluids for relief of heat
stress.
D) No other
treatments are considered first aid for the purposes of this Subpart
B.
E) The professional status of
the person providing the treatment has no effect on what is considered first
aid or medical treatment.
Even when these treatments are provided by a licensed health
care professional, they are considered first aid. Similarly, treatment beyond
first aid is considered to be medical treatment even when it is provided by
someone other than a physician or other licensed health care
professional.
10) Refusal of Medical Treatment
If a licensed health care professional recommends medical
treatment, encourage the injured or ill employee to follow that recommendation.
However, the case must be recorded even if the injured or ill employee does not
follow the licensed health care professional's recommendation.
11) Loss of Consciousness
Record a work-related injury or illness if the worker becomes
unconscious, regardless of the length of time the employee remains
unconscious.
12)
Significant Diagnosed Injury or Illness
A)
Work-related cases involving cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured
or cracked bone, or a punctured eardrum must always be recorded under the
general criteria at the time of diagnosis 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.
B) Most
significant injuries and illnesses will result in one of the criteria listed in
this Part, i.e., 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. 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.