CONN-OSHA Answers Your Safety Questions: February 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: Would an injury such as slipping and falling on ice in a company parking lot while commuting to or from work be considered work-related?

A: Yes. The company parking lot is considered part of the work environment. 

You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness.

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Q: An employee exited the building, and slipped and fell (suffering a sprained knee) while clearing snow from their personal vehicle prior to exiting the parking lot.

Does the act of clearing snow qualify for the exception listed in 29 CFR 1905(b)(2)(v) for activities that are personal tasks unrelated to their employment?

A: Clearing the snow off his personal vehicle in the company parking lot does not meet the personal tasks exemption. 

The company parking lot, where the injury occurred, is a part of the employer’s establishment. Because none of the work-related exceptions under 1904.5(b)(2) apply to the event, the case is work related.

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Q: How does OSHA define a company parking lot for purposes of recordkeeping?

A: Company parking lots are part of the employer’s premises and therefore part of the establishment. 

These areas are under the control of the employer, i.e. those parking areas where the employer can limit access (such as parking lots limited to the employer’s employees and visitors). 

On the other hand, a parking area where the employer does not have control (such as a parking lot outside of a building shared by different employers, or a public parking area like those found at a mall or beneath a multi-employer office building) would not be considered part of the employers establishment (except for the owner of the building or mall), and therefore not a company parking lot for purposes of OSHA recordkeeping.

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

Understanding OSHA Recordkeeping Needs