OSHA Form 300: Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

Within 7 calendar days after you receive information about a case, decide if the case is recordable under the OSHA recordkeeping requirements.

Determine whether the incident is a new case or a recurrence of an existing one.

Establish whether the case was work-related.

If the case is recordable, decide which form you will fill out as the injury and illness incident report.

If you're not sure whether a case is recordable, call your local OSHA office for help.

Record information about every work-related death and about every work-related injury or illness that involves loss of consciousness, restricted work activity or job transfer, days away from work, or medical treatment beyond first aid.

You must record any significant work-related injury or illness that is diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

You must record any work-related case involving cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured or cracked bone, or a punctured eardrum.

Use these definitions when you classify cases on the Log.

If the incident required only the following types of treatment, consider it first aid.

Common mistake: Do NOT record the case if it involves only: using non-prescription medications at non-prescription strength; administering tetanus immunizations; cleaning, flushing, or soaking wounds on the skin surface; using wound coverings, such as bandages, Bandaids™, gauze pads, etc., or using Steristrips™ or butterfly bandages; using hot or cold therapy; using any totally non-rigid means of support, such as elastic bandages, wraps, non-rigid back belts, etc.; using temporary immobilization devices while transporting an accident victim (splints, slings, neck collars, or back boards); drilling a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure, or draining fluids from blisters; using eye patches; using simple irrigation or a cotton swab to remove foreign bodies not embedded in or adhered to the eye; using irrigation, tweezers, cotton swab or other simple means to remove splinters or foreign material from areas other than the eye; using finger guards; using massages; drinking fluids to relieve heat stress.

Complete the 5 steps for each case.

At the top of the Log, in the blank next to Year 20, write the last two of the year's number, and enter the Establishment name, the City and the State.

Under Step 1, Identify the person, enter the Case no., the Employee's name and the Job title.

Identify the employee involved unless it is a privacy concern case, as described in “The case is a privacy concern case.”

Next, under Step 2, Describe the case (the Case no. is Step 1), enter the Date of injury or onset of illness, Where the event occurred, and a description: Describe injury or illness, parts of body affected, and object/substance that directly injured or made person ill.

Common mistake: Under Step 3, Classify the case, select only one circle based on the most serious outcome: Death (G), Days away from work (H), Job transfer or restriction (I) or Other recordable cases (J).

Under Step 4, enter the number of days the injured or ill worker was Away from work and On job transfer or restriction.

Common mistake: Do not count the day on which the injury or illness occurred in this number.

If a single injury or illness involved both days away from work and days of restricted work activity, enter the total number of days for each.

Under Step 5, select one column: Injury, Skin disorder, Respiratory condition, Poisoning, Hearing loss or All other illnesses.

Sprain and strain injuries to muscles, joints, and connective tissues are classified as injuries when they result from a slip, trip, fall or other similar accidents.

Be sure to transfer these totals to the Summary page (Form 300A) before you post it.

Common mistake: You don't post the Log; you post only the Summary at the end of the year.

You must consider the following types of injuries or illnesses to be privacy concern cases: an injury or illness to an intimate body part or to the reproductive system, an injury or illness resulting from a sexual assault, a mental illness, a case of HIV infection, hepatitis, or tuberculosis, a needlestick injury or cut from a sharp object that is contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious material (see 29 CFR Part 1904.8 for definition), and other illnesses, if the employee independently and voluntarily requests that his or her name not be entered on the log.

Common mistake: You must not enter the employee's name on the OSHA 300 Log for these cases.

Instead, enter “privacy case” in the space normally used for the employee's name.

Revise the log if the injury or illness progresses and the outcome is more serious than you originally recorded for the case.

If using the PDF's fillable form feature, simply change your selections.

The Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300) is used to classify work-related injuries and illnesses and to note the extent and severity of each case. When an incident occurs, use the Log to record specific details about what happened and how it happened.

The Summary, a separate form (Form 300A), shows the totals for the year in each category.

Classify the seriousness of the case by recording the most serious outcome associated with the case, with column G (Death) being the most serious and column J (Other recordable cases) being the least serious.

You must keep the Log and Summary for 5 years following the year to which they pertain.

On the Summary (Form 300A), under Sign here, the Company executive signs.

You must post the Summary (Form 300A) only, not the Log, by February 1 of the year following the year covered by the form and keep it posted until April 30 of that year.

Many employers are required to electronically submit information from their OSHA Forms to OSHA. To see if your establishment is required to submit the information, visit www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/index.html.

On the Summary (Form 300A), the certification is: I certify that I have examined this document and that to the best of my knowledge the entries are true, accurate, and complete.

Many but not all employers must complete the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping forms on an ongoing basis. Employers with 10 or fewer employees throughout the previous calendar year do not need to complete these forms. In addition to the small employer exemption, there is an exemption for establishments classified in certain industries. A complete list of exempt industries can be found on the OSHA web page at www.osha.gov/recordkeeping. Establishments normally exempt from keeping the OSHA forms must complete the forms if they are informed in writing to do so by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or OSHA. Employers in State Plan States should check with their State Plan to see if the exemptions apply. All employers, including those partially exempted by reason of company size or industry classification, must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.