CONN-OSHA Answers Your Safety Questions: December 2022

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: What is OSHA’s stand on an injury that occurs at work as a result of an employee being under the influence of illegal substances?

A: Being under the influence of an illegal substance is not a factor when determining recordability for OSHA recordkeeping purposes.

Q: If an employee is let go from a job based on poor job performance and after being let go comes back and says he was injured on the job, but there is no evidence an injury occurred. Is this considered an OSHA recordable?

A: If you determine that there was no work-related injury, you do not have to record the case. Under the OSHA recordkeeping system, the employer has the ultimate responsibility for making good-faith recordkeeping determinations regarding an injury and/or illness. 

Employers must decide if and how a particular case should be recorded and their decision must not be an arbitrary one.

Q: If an employee with a work-related injury goes to a chiropractor and receives an “adjustment” procedure, is this considered “medical treatment” under the recordkeeping requirements?

A: Yes, a chiropractic adjustment procedure is considered medical treatment for OSHA recordkeeping purposes.

Q: Can we have our lead foreman sign our OSHA 300 summary log since he generally handles safety matters?     

A: The person signing the log is verifying the accuracy of the information, acknowledging that based on their knowledge of the company’s safety and program and that the information is complete. 

However, the signatory of the log must be the (1) owner (if the company is a sole proprietorship or partnership); (2) an officer of the corporation, highest ranking official working at the company; or (3) the immediate supervisor of the highest ranking company official working at the company. 

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