Background:  Cal/OSHA require auto dealers and other employers to keep a record of occupational injuries and illnesses using OSHA Log 300 and to post a summary on the employee notice board from February 1 to April 30, 2020.

Forms & Guidance to Fill:  California Forms: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/DoshReg/ApndxA300Final.pdf (Fillable Form)

Cal/OSHA exempts certain industries: https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/14300_2.html

Federal-OSHA:  https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/RKforms.html

• OSHA Form 300 – Log of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses
• OSHA Form 300A – Summary of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses
• OSHA Form 301 – Injury & Illness Incident Report

 

Posting Requirements:  Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses) for 2019 must be posted on the employee notice board from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020.  ONLY Form 300A needs to be posted.  Disclosing injured employee name on the notice board is a big no-no.

Cal/OSHA Guide on Completing Forms: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/dosh_publications/reckeepoverview.pdf

Tutorial for Completing Forms: A tutorial is available to assist in completing the forms at https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/tutorial.html

Recordkeeping Questions & Answers: See https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy10/sh-20856-10/Recordkeeping_Questions_w_Answers.pdf.

First-Aid Not Recordable on Log 300:  First-aid is https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/firstaid_list.pdf​.

Serious Injury:  Call your local OSHA office to report serious injury.  Cal/OSHA phone number is on the employee labor law poster.  California Code on reporting serious injury is https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/342.html.

Commentary:  The forms are provided as a tool for the employer to document injuries, inform employees of accidents at the facility and allow OSHA inspectors to obtain a quick summary of accidents at the workplace.

Employers must use this log as a management tool to gauge the nature and frequency of injuries in order to determine corrective measures for accident elimination, and to counsel employees who show up on the accident log on a repeated basis.  Certain highlights of the forms are as follows:

• Requires records to include any work-related injury or illness resulting in one of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first-aid, loss of consciousness, or diagnosis of a significant injury or illness by a physician or other licensed health care professional.
• Requires a significant degree of aggravation before a preexisting injury or illness becomes recordable.
• Requires employers to record cases when injured or ill employees are restricted from their “normal duties,” which are defined as work activities employees regularly perform at least once per week.
• You may stop counting days of restricted work activity or days away from work once the total of either or the combination of both reaches 180 days.
• Focus on days away or days restricted or transferred. Rules rely on calendar days instead of workdays!
• Requires employers to establish a procedure for employees to report injuries and illnesses and to tell their employees how to report. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees who report.  Employee representatives will have access to those parts of OSHA Form 301 relevant to the employees they represent.

Cal/OSHA Reporting Guidelines:  An employee trips in the service driveway of your dealership during normal course of business and seeks medical treatment.  Employee comes back to work the next day, but continues treatment of physiotherapy and medication.  After 6 months, the MD states that only surgery can cure the knee problem and the employee proceeds with knee replacement surgery.  The issue is whether this knee accident is now Cal/OSHA reportable as a serious injury accident.  Yes, the accident must be reported to Cal/OSHA under the serious injury reporting statutes (Section 342). Employers are required to report incidents within 8 hours to Cal/OSHA as follows:

• Any fatality.
• Any inpatient hospitalization for work related injury or illness, for anything other than medical observation or diagnostic testing must be reported.
• An amputation, the loss of an eye, or any serious degree of permanent disfigurement, but does not include any injury or illness or death caused by an accident on a public street or highway, unless the accident occurred in a construction zone.

 

Questions Asked During Reporting:

1. Time and date of accident/event

1. Employer’s name, address and telephone number
2. Name and job title of the person reporting the accident
3. Address of accident/event site
4. Name of person to contact at accident/event site
5. Name and address of injured employee(s)
6. Nature of injuries
7. Location where injured employee(s) was/were taken for medical treatment
8. List and identity of other law enforcement agencies present at the accident/event site
9. Description of accident/event and whether the accident scene or instrumentality has been altered.

Electronic Recordkeeping Submission:  Establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records must electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 — Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, 300A — Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and 301 — Injury and Illness Incident Report.  See https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3862.pdf.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: The contents of this newsletter are merely for informational purposes only and are not to be considered as professional advice. Information from www.osha.gov was used to prepare part of this newsletter.  Employers must consult their lawyer for legal matters and safety consultants for matters related to safety.  The article was authored by Sam Celly of Celly Services, Inc. who has been helping automobile dealers comply with EPA & OSHA regulations since 1987.  Sam received his BE (1984) and MS (1986) in Chemical Engineering followed by a J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law (1997).  Our newsletters can be accessed at www.epaoshablog.com.  Your comments/questions are always welcome.  Please send them to sam@cellyservices.com.