As an employer, when filling out your OSHA 300 Log, it is important to document serious injuries and illnesses accurately. Over-reporting can harm your company as it impacts your company’s TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate) and the EMR (Experience Modification Rate). Over-reporting can show to other companies and the public that your company is not working in a safe manner.
When you are filling out the OSHA 300 Log, ask yourself these two questions:
- Is the incident work-related?
- Did the incident require medical attention beyond first aid?
*OSHA defines the difference between first aid and medical attention*
Both answers to the questions above need to be a “yes” in order for the injury or illness to be recorded on the log. If either of these questions are answered “no,” the incident does not need to be recorded.
Incident Example 1:
A worker slips and falls on a mat at the jobsite and hurts their leg. The worker goes to a doctor who prescribes them 800mg of ibuprofen.
Is this recordable? The answer is yes!
Is the incident work related? Yes, the incident occurred at the jobsite.
Did the incident require medical attention beyond first aid? Yes, according to OSHA 400mg and up of ibuprofen is considered medical attention beyond first aid.
Since both questions have been answered “yes,” this incident is recordable.
Incident Example 2:
A worker slips on a mat while working from home and hurts their leg. They take a 200mg dose of ibuprofen to ease the pain.
Is this recordable? The answer is no!
Is the incident work related? No, the worker was working from home and the employer is not responsible for ensuring personal mats in a workers home are secure.
Did the incident require medical attention beyond first aid? No, according to OSHA, 200mg of ibuprofen is considered an over-the-counter medication and falls in the first aid category.
Since both questions have been answered “no,” this incident is not recordable.
Incident Example 3:
A worker is using a box cutter to cut boxes in the worksites warehouse, the box cutter slips and slightly cuts the workers finger. The worker has a small cut and uses a bandage to cover it.
Is this recordable? The answer is no!
Is the incident work related? Yes, the worker cut their finger while at the worksites warehouse.
Did the incident require medical attention beyond first aid? No, the worker was able to use a bandage to cover the wound which is considered first aid.
Since both questions were not answered “yes,” this incident is not recordable.
Conclusion
It is important for employers to accurately fill out their OSHA 300 Logs to prevent over-reporting and to eliminate potentially high TRIR’s and EMR’s due to over-reporting.
The OSHA 300 Log can be challenging and may take time to fill out. JJ Safety can help create, upload, and review OSHA 300 Logs for your company if you are struggling. We review each incident on the log and cross-reference them with the OSHA Recordkeeping Handbook to prevent over-reporting. Give JJ Safety a call if you’re having trouble, we are here to help.