Recordable Work-Related Injury and Illness

Employers with 11 employees or more must keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses and make these available to employees. OSHA defines a recordable work-related injury or illness as a fatality or anything that results in the following symptoms or situations:

• Loss of consciousness
• Days away from work
• Restricted work
• Transfer to another job
• Work-related diagnosed cancer
• Work-related chronic irreversible diseases
• Work-related fractured or cracked bones or teeth
• Work-related fractured punctured eardrums
• Medical treatment beyond first aid (which you reviewed in the previous slide)

OSHA also requires specific action for certain injuries, as follows:

• Employers must report all inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye within 24 hours through OSHA's toll-free number: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).
• Employers must report all fatalities to the nearest OSHA office within 8 hours.

Note that OSHA excludes employers with 10 or fewer employees and employers in certain low-hazard industries from this requirement. These decisions are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the injury and illness data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from 2007, 2008, and 2009. You can view the lists of both exempt and newly covered industries for details.

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