LOG 300, 300A & 301 REQUIRED FOR AUTO DEALERS
Background: Cal/OSHA and Fed-OSHA now requires auto dealers and other employers to keep a record of occupational injuries and illnesses using OSHA Log 300 and post summary on employee notice board from February 1 to April 30, 2018.
Every October, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration releases a preliminary list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations for the fiscal year, compiled from nearly 32,000 inspections of workplaces by federal OSHA staff. One remarkable thing about the list is that it rarely changes. Year after year, thousands of the same on-the-job hazards are cited, any one of which could result in a fatality or severe injury.
LOG 300, 300A & 301 REQUIRED FOR AUTO DEALERS
Background: Cal/OSHA now requires auto dealers and other employers to keep a record of occupational injuries and illnesses using OSHA Log 300. We note that Fed-OSHA had issued these requirements to auto dealers in 2015.
Introduction: Workers’ Compensation (WC) insurance costs to the dealership are increasing more than other costs and much faster than inflation. In this newsletter, we explain:
Accident investigation should be the cornerstone of any safety program. Many safety programs concentrate on safety inspections and training, but omit accident investigation. Investigating accidents is not only a good idea, but also a requirement. Below, we provide some guidance and tools to complete an accident investigation.
RECORDABLE: Federal-OSHA requires auto dealers to keep a record of occupational injuries and illnesses using Log of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses (OSHA Form 300). We discussed this in great detail in our October 2014 Newsletter. We note that first-aid is not recordable on OSHA Log 300. The federal legal definition of first-aid is as follows:
OSHA INJURY LOG REQUIREMENTS
LOG 300, 300A & 301 REQUIRED FOR AUTO DEALERS
Background: Prior to January 1, 2002 Cal/OSHA required auto dealers and other employers to keep an injury log known as OSHA Log 200. Starting January 1, 2002, Fed-OSHA enacted Log 300, replacing the Log 200, but kept auto dealers exempt. Good news was that California joined the Feds on 1/1/2002 and kept auto dealers exempt from logging requirements, as stated here.
What’s Up 40%?
You think it’s your energy bills, wish it was your sales, but actually, it is your workers’ compensation insurance! Last year workers’ compensation premiums increased about 40% and this year it is expected to be up 30%. California amended its workers’ compensation law in 1995 to provide a more competitive field for insurance companies, thereby reducing the premiums for employers. In 1995, the law that required employers to pay workers’ compensation insurance was modified to an open rating system from a rate fixed by the state. The 1995 regulations sparked a price war amongst insurance companies much to the delight of employers. However, the premiums that went down about 50% in the year following the deregulation are up about 8% from the pre-deregulation days.
Insurance companies have reportedly increased the premiums to cover up their losses. Last year they lost about $3 billion in California alone. To make matters worse, some of them went belly-up or left the business in the state to minimize their exposure. For example, the second largest writer of workers’ compensation insurance in California, Fremont General Corp., is now under voluntary state supervision for its poor financial condition. Another reason was that when the stock market headed south, many insurance companies that had their fortunes tied up in the market got pummeled.
Bye-Bye Manifest
California hazardous waste disposal documentation laws have been simplified. Now disposal of waste antifreeze, oil/water separator sludge (500 gallon per 30-day period) and parts cleaning solvent (both petroleum-based and water-based) do not require the completion of a manifest. The manifest is a six-page, multi-colored State of California document that needed to be completed for disposal of any hazardous waste unless exempted.
Celly Services Inc. 