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OSHA's Reporting Deadlines: 8 Hours, 24 Hours

Every employer — exempt from recordkeeping or not — must report a workplace fatality to OSHA within 8 hours, and any inpatient hospitalization, amputation or eye loss within 24. The rule, the phone number, and what happens after the call.

LegalWorkplace.com Staff Reviewed Sep 2026 · 8 min read

8 hours

Any work-related fatality — including one occurring within 30 days of the incident.

24 hours

Any work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye occurring within 24 hours of the incident.

Everyone

These duties apply to all employers — including those exempt from routine recordkeeping.

Not legal advice. Educational guide to general U.S. employment law. Rules vary by state — consult an employment attorney for specific cases.

The two deadlines

Under 29 CFR 1904.39, every employer must report to OSHA: a work-related fatality within 8 hours of learning of it (reportable when death occurs within 30 days of the incident), and a work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours of learning of it (reportable when the event occurs within 24 hours of the incident). These duties bind every employer — the ten-employee and low-hazard-industry exemptions from the recordkeeping rule do not touch them. The deadline runs from knowledge: when the employer learns of the death or hospitalization, not when a manager finishes gathering facts.

What exactly triggers a report

Fatality

Any work-related death, including from an incident up to 30 days earlier. Motor-vehicle deaths on public roads and commercial-transportation accidents are exempt from the report (not from the log).

Inpatient hospitalization

Formal admission to the in-patient service for care or treatment — not an ER visit-and-release, not observation-only admission. One employee admitted is enough.

Amputation

Loss of a limb or external body part, including fingertip loss with bone — with or without medical intervention.

Loss of an eye

Physical loss of the eye itself — blindness without loss of the eye is recordable but not reportable.

Making the report

Three channels, all official: the nearest OSHA area office in business hours, the 24-hour line 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or the online form at osha.gov/report. You'll provide the establishment name, the location and time of the incident, the number of affected employees and their names, a contact person and phone, and a brief description of what happened. Say what is known and only what is known — the report is not the investigation, and speculation given at hour seven has a way of contradicting facts found at day seven. If the incident also involves a temporary worker, report it yourself if you supervise the work; don't assume the staffing agency will.

After the call

OSHA triages every report: fatalities and multiple hospitalizations usually draw an on-site inspection; single hospitalizations often proceed by Rapid Response Investigation — a letter asking the employer to investigate the incident itself and return findings and corrective actions. Take the RRI seriously and answer it thoroughly: a credible root-cause analysis with completed corrective actions is frequently the difference between closure by letter and an inspector at the door. Meanwhile, preserve the scene as required after a fatality or catastrophe (equipment moved only for rescue and safety), record the case on the 300 log, and remember the anti-retaliation rule: employees who report injuries are protected, and injury-discipline programs that deter reporting are their own violation — the same principle running through the retaliation guide.

Frequently asked questions

How do we report to OSHA?

Three official channels under 1904.39: call the nearest OSHA area office during business hours, call the 24-hour hotline 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or file the online report at osha.gov. Have the establishment name, incident location and time, number and names of affected employees, a contact person, and a brief description ready.

Does a hospital emergency-room visit count as a hospitalization?

No — the trigger is formal inpatient admission for care or treatment. An ER evaluation followed by release isn't reportable, and an admission for observation only isn't either. Admission for treatment within 24 hours of the work incident is.

What if the death happens weeks after the accident?

A fatality is reportable if it occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident — the 8-hour clock runs from when you learn of the death. Hospitalizations, amputations and eye losses are reportable only when they occur within 24 hours of the incident.

Are heart attacks at work reportable?

Yes — an in-patient hospitalization or fatality from a heart attack at work must be reported; the area director will decide whether to investigate work-relatedness. Report and let OSHA sort causation; deciding it yourself is how deadlines get missed.