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Occupational Safety & Health Administration |
Standard Interpretations
01/15/2004 - Evaluation of seven scenarios for work-relatedness and recordkeeping requirements. |
Standard Interpretations - Table of Contents |
Standard Number: | 1904; 1904.5; 1904.5(a); 1904.5(b)(2); 1904.7; 1904.6; 1904.6(a); 1904.31 |
January 15, 2004 Ms. Leann M. Johnson-Koch 1200 Nineteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-2412 Dear Ms. Johnson-Koch: Thank you for your E-mail to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding the Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements contained in 29 CFR Part 1904. Your letter was forwarded to my office by Richard Fairfax, Director, Directorate of Enforcement Programs. The Division of Recordkeeping Requirements is responsible for the administration of the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping system nationwide. Please excuse the delay in responding to your request. In your letter, you ask OSHA to clarify the following scenarios to ensure accurate and consistent guidance to your members for purposes of OSHA Recordkeeping requirements. I will address your scenarios by first restating each one and then answering it. Scenario 1:
Response: A case is work-related if it is more likely than not that an event or exposure in the work environment was a cause of the injury or illness. The work event or exposure need only be one of the causes; it not need to be the sole or predominant cause. In this case, the fact that neither the physician nor the employee could state with certainty that the employee's edema was caused by working with wet feet is not dispositive. The physician's description of the edema as an "occupational disease," and the employee's statement that working with wet feet was "the only thing he could of" as the cause, indicate that it is more likely than not that working with wet feet was a cause. The case should be recorded on the OSHA 300 Log. Scenario 2: An employee must report to work by 8:00 a.m.
Response: Company parking lots and sidewalks are part of the employer's establishment for recordkeeping purposes. Here, the employee slipped on an icy sidewalk while walking to the office to report for work. In addition, the event or exposure that occurred does not meet any of the work-related exceptions contained in 1904.5(b)(2). The employee was on the sidewalk because of work; therefore, the case is work-related regardless of the fact that he had not actually checked in. Scenario 3: The employee described in Scenario 2 missed 31 days of work due to the back injury.
Response: The employer would have to enter the additional days away from work on the OSHA 300 log based on receiving information from the physician or other licensed health care professional that the employee was unable to work. Scenario 4:
Response: Under Section 1904.5(b)(2)(v), an injury or illness is not work-related if it is solely the result of an employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to their employment) at the establishment outside of the employee's assigned working hours. In order for this exception to apply, the case must meet both of the stated conditions. The exception does not apply here because the injury or illness occurred within normal working hours. Therefore, your case in question is work-related, and if it meets the general recording criteria under Section 1904.7 the case must be recorded. Scenario 5:
Response: The recordkeeping regulation contains no general exception for purposes of determining work-relationship for cases involving acts of violence in the work environment. Company parking lots/access roads are part of the employer's premises and therefore part of the employer's establishment. Whether the employee had not clocked in to work does not affect the outcome for determining work-relatedness. The case is recordable on the OSHA log, because the injury meets the general recording criteria contained in Section 1904.7. Scenario 6:
Response: In the recordkeeping regulation, the employer is required to follow any determination a physician or other licensed health care professional has made about the status of a new case. The inflamed tendon is a new case because the employee had completely recovered from the previous injury and illness and a new event or exposure had occurred in the work environment. Therefore, for purposes of OSHA recordkeeping, the employer would enter the case on the OSHA 300 log as appropriate. Scenario 7:
Response: Section 1904.31 states that the employer must record the injuries and illnesses that occur to employees not on its payroll if it supervises them on a day-to-day basis. Day-to-day supervision generally exists when the employer "supervises not only the output, product, or result to be accomplished by the person's work, but also the details, means, methods, and processes by which the work objective is accomplished." Thank you for your interest in occupational safety and health. We hope you find this information helpful. OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer obligations. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed. Note that our enforcement guidance may be affected by changes to OSHA rules. In addition, from time to time we update our guidance in response to new information. To keep appraised of such developments, you can consult OSHA's website at http://www.osha.gov. If you have any further questions, please contact the Division of Recordkeeping Requirements, at 202-693-1702. Sincerely, Frank Frodyma Acting Director Directorate of Evaluation and Analysis |
Standard Interpretations - Table of Contents |
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