Workplace Injury Notice Posting Requirement Nears

>The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) notes that, beginning February 1, employers must post a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred last year.   Employers are required to post only the Summary (OSHA Form 300A), rather than the OSHA 300 Log, from February 1 to April 30, 2004.

>The summary must list the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2003 and were logged on the OSHA 300 form. Employment information about annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year are also required to assist in calculating incidence rates.

>Even companies with no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2003 must post the form with zeros on the total line – and all establishment summaries must be certified by a company executive.

>The form is to be displayed in a common area wherever notices to employees are usually posted. OSHA notes that employers must make a copy of the summary available to employees who move from worksite to worksite (such as construction workers), and employees who do not report to any fixed establishment on a regular basis.

>Employers with ten or fewer employees and employers in certain industry groups are normally exempt from federal OSHA injury and illness record keeping and posting requirements. A complete list of exempt industries in the retail, services, finance, and real estate sectors is posted on OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov .

>Copies of the OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301 are available on the OSHA Record Keeping web page in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet format at http://www.osha.gov/pls/publications/pubindex.list#300