Common Workplace Injuries: Which are Recordable?

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Employers face many HR challenges but one of the biggest headaches is determining whether to record a workplace illness and injury on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Form 300, according to XpertHR's new Top 10 Q&As and Checklist for OSHA Compliance guide. Is stepping on a rusty nail or falling off a ladder at a worksite considered a recordable injury? Is there a difference between a remote worker getting injured carrying a box of work documents or a basket of laundry?

OSHA recordkeeping rules require that serious work-related injuries, such as injuries requiring days away from work, restricted work, or a transfer to another job; or loss of consciousness, be recorded on the OSHA 300 log. Also, any injury requiring medical treatment beyond first aid must be recorded. In its new guide, XpertHR provides direction on major and minor workplace injuries and which should be recorded to comply with OSHA's requirements.  

"Each injury and illness is unique, and employers must consider certain factors when deciding whether it is considered 'recordable' according to OSHA and which are not," says Melissa Gonzalez Boyce, Legal Editor, XpertHR. "Injuries can happen even in the safest workplaces and when they do, employers must be knowledgeable on which injuries they must report to OSHA or potentially face stiff penalties."

In its guide to workplace injuries and illnesses, XpertHR identifies common scenarios and offers advice for evaluating them based on OSHA criteria. Some of the real-life scenarios in XpertHR's guide include: an ergonomics injury, fainting at work, injury sustained on a business trip, and work-related injuries or illnesses of seasonal workers.

"There are often gray areas with injury and illness recordkeeping where it is not clear whether an injury meets the recording criteria," says Gonzalez Boyce. "Employers need to understand the requirements for properly identifying recordable incidents in order to proactively achieve OSHA recordkeeping compliance."

To learn more about OSHA's injury and illness recordkeeping regulations and to find out how to respond to a workplace injury or illness, download the XpertHR Top 10 Q&As and Checklist for OSHA Compliance guide at XpertHR.

About XpertHR
XpertHR helps build successful workforces by providing practical tools, expert resources and agile HR solutions from the federal, state and municipal level to help businesses stay a step ahead. Our latest survey on the Top HR trends is just one of the surveys available through our new Benchmarking and Surveys tool which aims to provide organizational benchmarking information to users. The tool offers HR and employer survey results and interpretations on topics ranging from annual HR trends to pay and budget, enabling HR professionals to understand how their organization compares to employers in their industry and benchmark current processes and policies. XpertHR provides HR professionals with the guidance, tools and resources to apply any learnings or best practice to their organization.

Editor's Note: Melissa Gonzalez Boyce, Legal Editor, XpertHR, is available for interview. If you use any of this material, please include a link to https://bit.ly/2OfjGQw.

Media Contact:
Beth Brody
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908-295-0600

SOURCE XpertHR