With everyone preparing their OSHA 300 and 300A forms, one common mistake is made when recording extremely long term incidents. These are the ones were the employee cannot perform his normal job function for months. When recording days away or transferred, the maximum days that need to be reported is 180 days. These 180 days apply to the total days away, total days transferred, or the total combination of the two. If an employee has 100 days away followed by 100 days of transferred work the employer would only record the 100 days away and 80 of the days transferred because that is when the total hits 180 days.
Another common mistake is recording a single incident on more than one year. Assuming an employee got hurt on December 1st of 2012 and the doctor ordered him to miss work due to injury through January 31st, the incident would be recorded on 2012’s 300 and 300A forms with 61 days away all recorded for 2012. When filling out the 300 and 300A forms for 2013 this incident would not count as a recordable or days away for the 2013 year. If the employee returned to work either earlier or later than expected then the 2012 forms would be modified. This makes sure that the entire effect of all incidents remain with the year they occurred in.
Remember to have your 300A forms posted conspicuously in a common area for employees from February 1st through April 30th. If you have any questions feel free to contact CS Consulting at 307-235-9112.
*Unless specific citations are shown, all answers are based on interpretations provided by authorized officials. As such, all information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.