CONN-OSHA Answers Your Safety Questions: November 2023

Welcome to our monthly column featuring CONN-OSHA experts answering some of the most commonly asked safety questions from CBIA member companies.

Most of the responses from Catherine Zinsser, a CONN-OSHA occupational safety training specialist, will be on recordkeeping since that is the focus of most questions she fields.

But if you’d like to ask her a question on another topic, please email CBIA’s Phillip Montgomery.

He will treat all questions confidentially and never share any identifying company information with CONN-OSHA or anyone else.

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Q: Does “total hours worked by all employees last year” include holiday, sick, and bereavement leave?

A: No, you do not include vacation, sick leave, holidays, or any other non-work time, even if the employees were paid for it. 

You should include hours worked by salaried, hourly, part-time and seasonal workers, as well as hours worked by other workers subject to day to day supervision by your establishment (e.g., temporary help services workers).

Q: How do I count weekends, holidays, or other days the employee would not have worked anyway?

A: You must count the number of calendar days the employee was unable to work as a result of the injury or illness, regardless of whether or not the employee was scheduled to work on those day(s). 

Weekends days, holidays, vacation days, or other days off are included in the total number of days recorded if the employee would not have been able to work on those days because of work-related injury and illness.

Q: Our company will be hosting a Family Fun Day next to the main office. Attendance is voluntary and employees are allowed to bring family members. If an employee gets injured and requires medical treatment would this be an OSHA recordable case?

A: Injuries that result solely from voluntary participation in recreational activities are generally not considered work-related.

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Phillip Montgomery (860.244.1982).