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Introduction to OSHA Record-keeping and Reporting

     Before the Act became effective, no centralized and systematic method existed for monitoring occupational safety and health problems. Statistics on job injuries and illnesses were collected by some states and by some private organizations; national figures were based on not-altogether-reliable projections. With OSHA came the first basis for consistent, nation-wide procedures — a vital requirement for gauging problems and solving them.

     Employers with 11 or more employees must maintain records of occupational injuries and illnesses as they occur. The purpose of keeping records is to permit survey materials to be compiled to help define high hazard industries, and to inform employees of the status of their employer’s record. Employers in state plan states are required to keep the same records as employers in other states.

OSHA record-keeping is not required for certain retail trades and some service industries.

     Exempt employers, like non-exempt employers, must comply with OSHA standards, display the OSHA poster, and report to OSHA within eight hours any accident that results in one or more fatalities or the hospitalization of three or more employees.

     If an on-the-job accident occurs that results in the death of an employee or in the hospitalization of three or more employees, ALL employers, regardless of the number of employees, must report the accident, in detail, to the nearest OSHA office within eight hours.

     In states with approved plans, employers report such accidents to the state agency responsible for safety and health programs.

Injury and Illness Records
     Record-keeping forms are maintained on a calendar year basis. They are not sent to OSHA or any other agency. They must be maintained for five years at the establishment and must be available for inspection by representatives of OSHA, HHS or the designated state agency.

     Many specific OSHA standards have additional record-keeping and reporting requirements.

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