Employers' OSHA 300A Forms Due Feb. 1

Employers who are required to keep Form 300, the Injury and Illness log, must post Form 300A, the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, in a workplace common area annually from Feb. 1 to April 30.

All covered employers must post their 2012 annual summary by Feb. 1, 2013. You can download the form from OSHA’s Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Forms Web page.

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 also includes the number of workers and the hours they worked for the year.

Who Must Post OSHA Form 300A?

Nonexempt employers with more than 10 employees must post the form. Businesses that employ fewer than 10 workers or those that fall into an exempted category must also record injuries if they are told to by OSHA or the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Certain low-hazard industries are exempt.

Only the summary must be posted. The log itself does not need to be displayed but must be available for inspection by employees, their representatives or OSHA investigators. Employers with multiple job sites should keep a separate log and summary for each location that’s expected to be operational for at least a year.

Posting Period

The posting period is three months, from Feb. 1 to April 30. The 300A summary must be posted at each job site in a conspicuous area where notices to employees are customarily placed. Copies of the 300A summary should be provided to any employees who may not see the posted summary because they do not regularly report to a fixed location.

If the establishment has had no recordable injuries or illnesses, a company executive still must certify the 300A summary, and the establishment must post the form, with zeros in the appropriate lines.

Reportable Injuries

Generally, only serious injuries that are the result of workplace activity are reported. Analyze the activity to determine whether the injury was actually due to work duties. Businesses are not required to report injuries resulting from activities merely incidental to work responsibilities.

A serious injury is one that results in a fatality, loss of consciousness, days away from work, a restricted work schedule or job transfer, or a significant-injury or -illness diagnosis by a health care provider, or that requires medical treatment beyond basic first aid.

Do not report incidents that require only basic first aid.

If the injury involved is of a sensitive nature, such as sexual assault, then employers should write “privacy case” in the box for the worker’s name.

OSHA has announced that in 2013 it will continue to focus on record-keeping in its National Emphasis Programs, and 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.

Roy Maurer is an online editor/manager for SHRM.

Related Resource:

How to Complete the OSHA Form 300, SHRM How-To Guides, October 2009

Quick Links:

• SHRM OnlineSafety & Security page
• Keep up with the latest Safety & Security HR news