THE COHEN GROUP
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The Cohen Group Newsletter - Volume 6  Issue 1, Article 1.  January 2004

  It’s That Time Again! Your Cal/OSHA Recordkeeping Summary

Mark Golembiewski, CIH

 As we wrap up calendar year 2003 and transition into the new year, we also come to the end of the second year of complying with the revised Cal/OSHA recordkeeping requirements for recording occupational injuries and illnesses. You should now be getting comfortable with recording and maintaining your facility information on the three "new" Cal/OSHA forms; that is, Forms 300, 300A and 301.

The Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) is a "streamlined" version of the old 200 log. You use this form to record information about every work-related death and every injury or illness that involves loss of consciousness, restricted work activity or job transfer, days away from work, or medical treatment beyond first aid. The accompanying Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) is used to compile the details of each individual recordable injury or illness case. An equivalent form, such as the Report of Occupational Injury or Illness provided by your insurance carrier, may replace this form, but you should have a completed Form 301 for each entry on your 300 log. Don’t forget that during the year, each such 301 report form must be filled out within 7 calendar days after you receive information that a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred.

Information recorded on the Form 300 is to be summarized at year’s end and transferred to Form 300A (Summary of Work Related Injuries and Illnesses). Form 300A requires that you compile and enter the following:

· Total number of recordable cases according to four categories: 1) deaths, 2) days a way from work, 3) job           transfer or restriction, or 4) other
· Total number of days: 1) away from work, or 2) of job transfer or restriction
· Total number of occupational injuries (non first-aid) and illnesses by type (six categories are shown)

Form 300A also requires that you enter the identification information for your establishment, the average number of employees you had during the year, and the total hours worked by all employees for the year. Finally, the form must be signed by a company executive, who thereby certifies its accuracy.

It is this summary form (and only this form) that must be posted from February 1 to April 30 (it’s no longer just for the month of February). You must post the form in a conspicuous place within the workplace (i.e., where notices are customarily posted for employees). Even companies with no injuries and illnesses in 2003 should post the Form 300A with zeros on the total line. Failure to post a copy of the Form 300A can result in a Cal/OSHA citation and an assessed penalty.

Because of partial exemptions granted under the Cal/OSHA recordkeeping rules, many employers do not have to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless they are specifically asked to do so in writing. Employers who at no time during the year had more than 10 employees and establishments in certain industry classifications listed in Section 14300.2, Appendix A (low hazard industries in the retail, service, finance, insurance and real estate sectors), are partially exempt from keeping Cal/OSHA injury and illness records. To maintain consistency with the federal standard, some industries in California that had been exempt from recordkeeping requirements in the past may no longer be exempt (and some that formerly were not exempt are now exempt), so it’s important to check the Appendix A list (or feel free to call us at The Cohen Group) if you think you may be partially exempt.

Every "establishment" must maintain the Log 300, record individual case data on the Form 301, and complete and post the summary Form 300A. An establishment is defined as a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or operations are performed. Where an employer has multiple establishments, recordkeeping can be performed at a central location, as long as each site maintains a current copy of the log for that site. For contractors (or other employers) who have employees who do not report to a fixed establishment, the log can be maintained at a central place as long as the employees have access to the address and telephone number of that central location and there is someone available at the central location during normal business hours to transmit the information that is kept there, if requested.

In one interesting development earlier this year, Federal OSHA dropped a proposed modification to the 300 log that would have required employers to record musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in a separate column on their Form 300 (the old 200 log had a column for injuries due to "repeated trauma"). The proposed MSD column on the 300 log was intended to collect information "to obtain an accurate picture of the MSD problem in the United States," according to OSHA. However, the Bush administration delayed implementation of the provision and the Agency then determined that the record of evidence and public comment compiled did not support the need for such a column. Cal/OSHA followed suit and the new Form 300 only has columns for 1) injuries, 2) skin disorders, 3) respiratory conditions, 4) poisoning, 5) hearing loss, and 6) all other illnesses.

Cal/OSHA’s recordkeeping standard, Employer Records of Occupational Injury or Illness, can be found in 8CCR§ 14300 through 14300.48, which have been re-written in a "plain language," question and answer format. The regulations and forms can be accessed through the Department of Industrial Relations website at www.dir.ca.gov/DOSH under Title 8 regulations. There is also a link to a special, interactive module on recordkeeping rules in the "Features" box on the DOSH web page. It includes a very helpful comparison of the "old" and "new" rules, as well as the differences between the Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA requirements. If you have any questions regarding how to comply with these requirements, please call us.