The OSHA 300 Log is the form on which US employers covered by 29 CFR Part 1904 record each work-related injury and illness that meets OSHA’s recording criteria. Its companion forms are the 300-A annual summary and the 301 Incident Report, and equivalent forms are allowed (§1904.29(a)). A case goes on the log if it is work-related, is a new case and meets the general recording criteria in §1904.7 or the specific-case criteria in §§1904.8 to 1904.12 (§1904.4(a)). States with OSHA-approved State Plans must have recordkeeping rules substantially identical to Part 1904, with the same criteria for which cases are recordable, and may be stricter on some points, such as industry exemptions, with OSHA’s approval (§1904.37).

What makes a case recordable

A case meets the general recording criteria if it results in any of the following (§1904.7(a)):

  • Death
  • Days away from work
  • Restricted work or transfer to another job
  • Medical treatment beyond first aid
  • Loss of consciousness
  • A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even without any of the outcomes above

Deadlines, summary and retention

  • 7 calendar days. Each recordable injury or illness must be entered on the 300 Log and the 301 Incident Report within seven calendar days of receiving information that a recordable case has occurred (§1904.29(b)(3)).
  • Year-end review. At the end of each calendar year, the employer must review the log, correct deficiencies, create the annual summary, certify it and post it (§1904.32(a)).
  • Posting. The 300-A summary must be posted no later than February 1 of the following year and kept in place until April 30 (§1904.32(b)(6)).
  • Five years. The 300 Log, the privacy case list, the annual summary and the 301 forms are kept for five years following the end of the calendar year they cover (§1904.33).

An employee medical record is kept far longer: employment plus 30 years. See how long to keep occupational health records.

Privacy concern cases

For a privacy concern case, the employer may not enter the worker’s name on the log and writes “privacy case” instead, while keeping a separate, confidential list of case numbers and names (§1904.29(b)(6)). The list of privacy concern cases is closed (§1904.29(b)(7) and (b)(8)):

  • An injury or illness to an intimate body part or the reproductive system
  • An injury or illness resulting from a sexual assault
  • Mental illnesses
  • HIV infection, hepatitis or tuberculosis
  • Needlestick injuries and cuts from sharp objects contaminated with another person’s blood or other potentially infectious material
  • Other illnesses, if the worker voluntarily asks that their name not be entered

Who is exempt

A company with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, counted company-wide, does not need to keep the records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics asks in writing (§1904.1). Establishments in the industry groups listed in appendix A to subpart B of Part 1904 are also partially exempt (§1904.2), but all employers must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye (§1904.2(a)(1)).

Multi-site employers, in manufacturing and elsewhere, must keep a separate 300 Log for each establishment expected to be in operation for one year or longer (§1904.30(a)).

  • Employee medical record: Employee medical record, under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1020, means a record of an employee's health status made or kept by a physician, nurse or health care staff.
  • Employee exposure record: Employee exposure record, under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1020, means workplace or biological monitoring, safety data sheets or chemical inventories on toxic exposures.
  • Return-to-work assessment: A return-to-work assessment reviews whether and how a worker can come back after sickness absence or injury, and which adjustments or phased return they need.

Go further

Sources

  1. 29 CFR Part 1904: Recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses (OSHA)
  2. 29 CFR 1904.29: Forms (OSHA)
  3. 29 CFR 1904.32: Annual summary (OSHA)
  4. 29 CFR 1904.33: Retention and updating (OSHA)
  5. 29 CFR 1904.37: State recordkeeping regulations (OSHA)
  6. 29 CFR 1910.1020: Access to employee exposure and medical records (OSHA)

Written by Lisa Bardet, VP Marketing at MyC. Every factual claim in this entry is checked against the primary sources listed above before publication.

This entry is general information for employers and occupational health teams. It is not legal or medical advice for a specific situation.