CONN-OSHA Answers Your Safety Questions: February 2022

Welcome to our monthly column featuring CONN-OSHA experts answering some of the most commonly asked 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 stance 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. 

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Q: Our service utilizes volunteers as part of our workforce. I need to know how to record an injury for a volunteer who does not receive any compensation, has been told to take three days off from work but has no regular scheduled shift or hours.

A: Only injuries to employees should be entered on the OSHA 300 log. Generally, unpaid volunteers are not considered employees under the OSHA Act. 

If the volunteer is receiving some form of compensation (monetary or non-monetary) for services, then there may be an employer-employee relationship for the purposes of OSHA recordkeeping.

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Q: What is the best way to classify cases to complete column M on the OSHA 300 Log?

A: An injury or illness is an abnormal condition or disorder. 

Employers should look at the examples of injuries and illnesses in the “Classifying Injuries and Classifying Illnesses” section of the Recordkeeping Forms Package for guidance. 

If still unsure about the classification, employers could use the longstanding distinction between injuries that result from instantaneous events or those from exposures in the work environment. 

Cases resulting from anything other than an instantaneous event or exposure are considered illnesses.

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