CONN-OSHA Answers Your Safety Questions: July 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 contact CBIA’s Phillip Montgomery.

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

---

Q: An employee reports to their supervisor they’ve experienced neck pain for about two weeks, but did not report it because they felt they could work through it, and it would resolve itself.

The employee is sent to the doctor on the day they reported the injury, and is placed on restricted duty for the remainder of that day, and can return to their regular job the next day. No medical treatment was provided. Is this case recordable?

A: This is a recordable case because it involved restricted work activity subsequent to the day of injury or onset of illness.

Q: An employee retires on June 30. Prior to that, they received first aid for a work-related injury. On July 6, the employee’s personal doctor wrote the employee a prescription for the work related injury. Is this recordable?

A: Yes, the case should be recorded. 1904.7(b)(3)(viii) allows the employer to stop a day count when an employee retires, but it does not allow the employer to avoid recording a case that meets the recording criteria. 

This case is work related and required medical treatment.

Q: A tick bit an employee. The employee was seen by a doctor to ensure the tick was completely removed. The doctor gave the employee a single dose of antibiotic as a prophylaxis against Lyme disease. The employee was not ill or showing any symptoms. Is this recordable on the OSHA 300 log?

A: The case is recordable. Insect and animal bites that occur within the work environment are work-related injuries. 

The use of the prescription antibiotic makes the case recordable. The preventive, precautionary or prophylactic nature of a medication is not controlling for OSHA recordability.

---

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