OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Act

The OSH Act sets safety and health standards for workplace operations, and requires employers to maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards even if no regulation exists for that particular hazard.

Key Definitions

Recognized hazards are identifiable to employers as hazardous because they are either blatantly dangerous or are common hazards to the business or industry.

Coverage

Any company engaged in a business affecting interstate commerce is covered by the OSH Act and may be subject to inspection.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety and health standards govern general, construction, maritime, and agricultural industries, and any industry not governed by industry-specific standards.

Non-employees, such as customers or bystanders, who are injured by an unsafe workplace condition, are not covered by the OSH Act.  The Act only applies to employees. 

In determining whether an independent contractor is really an employee for purposes of the OSH Act, most courts rely on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Darden.  The Court held that to determine whether a person is indeed an employee, employers need to consider administrative issues (e.g., method and timing of wages, benefits, tax treatments) and the right to control the manner and means by which the work is accomplished.  In later cases, the High Court has ruled that the degree of control exercised over the worker is the principal factor in determining employee status.

State employees are only covered by a state program, if the state has its own OSHA-approved plan.

Federal employees must follow the safety and health programs established under an Executive Order for their individual agencies.  

Self-employed persons and farms employing only immediate members of the farmer’s family are also excepted.

Hazard Communication Standard

Employees have a “right to know” about the chemical hazards they may face in the workplace.  The hazard communication standard (HCS) requires chemical manufacturers or importers to evaluate the dangers of all chemicals produced or imported and transmit this information to affected employers and employees.  Employers are then required to do the following.

1. Ensure that all containers of hazardous materials are properly labeled identifying their contents, hazard warnings, and name and address of chemical manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.
   
   
2. Train all employees in the handling of hazardous materials, identifying hazards, and protecting themselves from exposure.
   
   
3. Maintain Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for each hazardous substance, which may be obtained from the manufacturer or importer of the chemical or prepared by the employer, and make them readily available to employees.  An MSDS must include:
   
   
   1. proper identification of the chemical or the ingredients of a mixture;
      
      
   2. physical and chemical characteristics;
      
      
   3. physical hazards, including signs and symptoms of exposure and medical conditions associated with exposure to the chemical;
      
      
   4. reactivity data;
      
      
   5. primary route(s) of exposure (e.g., skin contact, inhalation);
      
      
   6. the OSHA permissible exposure limit;
      
      
   7. precautions for safe handling and use;
      
      
   8. first aid and control measures; and
      
      
   9. date the MSDS was prepared or revised.
      
      
4. Develop a written hazard communication program.  Employers must put the following information in writing and have it readily available on request of employees, their representatives, OSHA, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):
   
   
   1. list of hazardous chemicals known to be present in the workplace;
      
      
   2. methods used to inform employees of the hazards associated with the chemicals; and
      
      
   3. methods used to inform independent contractors of the hazardous chemicals their employees may be exposed to while working on the employer’s premises.

Record-Keeping Requirements

Work-Related Injury and Illness Records

Work-related illnesses and injuries that result in death; loss of consciousness; days away from work; restricted work activity or job transfer; or medical treatment beyond first aid must be recorded on OSHA Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.  You must also record any significant work-related injury or illness that is diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, or any injury or illness that meets any of these additional criteria:

• any needlestick injury or cut from a sharp object that is contaminated with another person’s blood or other potentially infectious material;
  
  
• any case requiring an employee to be medically removed under the requirements of an OSHA health standard; or
  
  
• tuberculosis infection as evidenced by a positive skin test or diagnosis by a physician or other licensed health care professional after exposure to a known case of active tuberculosis.

Form 300 is used to classify work-related injuries and illnesses and to note the extent and severity of each case.  When an incident occurs, use Form 300 to record specific details about what happened and how it happened.  Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses shows the totals for the year in each category.  At the end of the year, count the number of incidents in each category and transfer the totals from Form 300 to Form 300A.

Note that you must keep a Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300) and a Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300A) for each establishment and site.  If you have more than one establishment, you must keep separate records for each physical location that is expected to be in operation for one year or longer.

OSHA Form 301, Injury and Illness Incident Report, must be filled out when a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred.  You must complete an Injury and Illness Incident Report (Form 301) for each injury or illness recorded on Form 300.  Form 301 records relevant information about the employee and the treating physician or health care professional, as well as specific details about the incident.

Within seven calendar days after you receive information that a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred, you must fill out Form 301 or an equivalent.  Some state Workers’ Compensation, insurance, or other reports may be acceptable substitutes.  To be considered an equivalent form, any substitute must contain all the information asked for on Form 301.

According to OSHA’s record-keeping rule, you must keep Forms 300, 300A, and 301 for five years following the year to which they pertain.

Under a rule that went into effect on February 1, 2003, company executives are required to certify company illness or injury logs.  Previously, certification was required by either the employer or the person who completed the log.  Now certification is required by an owner, an officer of the corporation, the highest-ranking company official working at the establishment, or the immediate supervisor of that highest-ranking official.  Under the rule, company executives must review OSHA Form 300 for accuracy and post injury and illness data on Form 300A.

Here are some of the other key provisions of OSHA’s record-keeping rule.

• Employers with 10 or fewer employees and those industries that are classified as low-hazard are exempt from most of the requirements. 
  
  
• One set of criteria is used for recording both work-related injuries and work-related illnesses.
  
  
• It defines medical treatment, first aid, and restricted work in order to simplify recording decisions.
  
  
• It requires a significant degree of aggravation before a preexisting injury or illness becomes recordable.
  
  
• It adds additional exemptions to the definition of work relationship to limit the recording of cases involving the eating and drinking of food and beverages, common colds and the flu, blood donations, exercise programs, mental illness, etc.
  
  
• It requires employers to record cases when an injured or ill employee is restricted from his/her “normal duties,” which are defined as work activities the employee regularly performs at least once a week.
  
  
• It requires employers to record standard threshold shifts (STS) in employees’ hearing and provides a separate column on OSHA Form 300 to capture statistics on hearing loss.  Note: An STS is an adverse change in an employee’s hearing threshold, relative to his/her most recent audiogram.
  
  
• It includes separate provisions describing the recording criteria for cases involving the work-related transmission of tuberculosis or medical removal under OSHA standards.
  
  
• It focuses on days away or days restricted or transferred, as opposed to “lost workdays,” and includes revised rules for counting that rely on calendar days instead of workdays.
  
  
• It requires employers to establish a procedure for employees to report injuries and illnesses and tell their employees how to report.  Employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees who do report.  Employee representatives will have access to those parts of the OSHA 301 form relevant to the employees they represent.
  
  
• It protects employees’ privacy by:
  
  
  1. prohibiting employers from entering an individual’s name on Form 300 for certain types of injuries/illnesses, e.g., sexual assaults, HIV infections, mental illnesses, etc.;
     
     
  2. providing employers the right not to describe the nature of sensitive injuries where the employee’s identity would be known;
     
     
  3. giving employee representatives access only to the portion of Form 301 which contains no personal identifiers; and
     
     
  4. requiring employers to remove employees’ names before providing the data to persons not provided access rights under the rule.
     
     
• It includes changes to the reporting of fatalities and catastrophes to exclude some motor carrier and motor vehicle accidents.

Medical and Toxic Exposure Records

Employee medical records and toxic exposure records must be kept for the term of employment plus 30 years.  Exposure and medical records relating to such substances as lead, inorganic arsenic, vinyl cyanide, etc., must be kept for at least 40 years or the duration of employment plus 20 years.  Noise exposure records must be retained for two years, and audiometric test records must be retained for the duration of the employee’s employment.

Employees, past and present, must have access to medical and exposure records.  Employees being assigned or transferred to work where there is exposure to toxic substances or harmful physical agents must be given access to examine and copy exposure records, including the following:

1. records measuring or monitoring the employee’s past and present exposure to toxic substances or harmful physical agents;
   
   
2. if such records are not available, the employee must be given access to the records of other employees with similar job duties and working conditions; and
   
   
3. exposure records that indicate the amount and nature of toxic substances or other harmful agents to which the employee may be exposed.

Employees must also be given access to these medical records, which should be stored permanently:

1. medical and employment histories,
   
   
2. results of pre-employment or periodic examinations,
   
   
3. x-ray examinations and laboratory tests,
   
   
4. medical opinions, diagnoses, and recommendations, including treatment and prescriptions, and
   
   
5. reports of medical complaints and first-aid records.

Posting Requirements

OSHA poster 2203, which informs employees of their rights and responsibilities, must be posted in a prominent location. 

Posters, color codes, labels, or signs must be used to warn employees of potential hazards. 

OSHA citations must be posted at or near the work site involved until the violation has been corrected or for three working days, whichever is longer.

A summary of the year’s totals of recordable occupational injuries and illnesses (Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) must be posted each year from February 1 to April 30 of the year following the year covered by the form.

Even if totals equal zero, the summary must be posted in a conspicuous place, accessible to all employees.  Make sure it is not altered, defaced, or covered by other posted materials.

Reporting Requirements

If a work-related death occurs or three or more employees are hospitalized as the result of a work-related incident, it must be reported to OSHA within eight hours of learning of the incident.  The report must be made by telephone or in person to the nearest OSHA area office, followed by a written report within 30 days.  Whether or not an incident is immediately reportable, if it results in the death of an employee or the hospitalization of three or more employees within 30 days of the incident, the employer must report the fatality or multiple hospitalization within eight hours of learning of it.

The report must contain the name of the company, location and time of incident, number of employees involved and extent of injuries, name and telephone number of company contact, summary of incident.

 

Back To OSHA Main Page