If you have 10 or more employees and are not in an exempt industry, you are responsible for logging any work-related injuries or accidents when they occur during the year, as well as summarizing the incidents annually. If your employees had any injuries that fall under the OSHA guidelines, you may need to record and file the OSHA 300 and 301A Forms (the Log of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses) and ensure compliance by April 30, 2017.
Even if there weren’t any workplace injuries or recordable incidents during the year, and you’re in the state of Washington and have more than 10 employees, you will still record and track the zero incidents, according to WAC 296-27-02105 regulations, on the Summary form and properly display it in a common work area.
What do I report?
OSHA updated their guidelines in January 2015, indicating that any of the following required immediate reporting:
- All work-related fatalities reported within 8 hours of incident
- All work-related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of eye within 24 hours
At the end of each year, the employer is required to post the Form 300A Summary so that it is visible to all employees through April 30th, as well as complete the Log and keep these records for a period of 5 years.
What should be recorded?
Any incidents that result in:
- Death
- Loss of consciousness
- Days away from work
- Restricted work activity or accommodation
- Medical treatment beyond first aid
Posting the Summary:
The Summary form must be posted between February 1 through April 30th in each office location. You must also keep the Summary and the OSHA Log for a period of 5 years, but you are not required to send the forms into OSHA unless requested.