Posted: February 5, 2010
Question: If an employee gets stung by a bee and the sting is treated with ice, is this an OSHA recordable injury? Would the recordability change if the employee went to the doctor?
Answer: The injury would not be an OSHA recordable if the only treatment was ice and/or some other form of first aid. However, if the employee goes to the doctor, and the doctor gives the employee a Benadryl shot, then the injury becomes recordable because the employee received medical treatment. On the converse, if the employee is prescribed Benadryl over-the-counter (OTC) to be taken per manufacturer's instructions, then the injury is not recordable.
Question: The doctor placed an injured employee on restricted work activity, but we do not have any "light" work for the employee to do. How should we record this if we cannot accommodate the work restriction?
Answer: Only the employer has the ultimate authority to restrict an employee's work, so the definition is clear that, although a health care professional may recommend the restriction, the employer makes the final determination of whether or not the health care professional's recommended restriction involves the employee's routine job functions. The employer must do an analysis of jobs to determine whether a suitable job is available to accommodate the employee's job restriction. If you, the employer, cannot accommodate the employee's job restriction and you send the employee home, you must record the injury as "Days Away From Work" instead of "Job Transfer or Restriction".
Question: We are a firm that falls under the "Partially Exempt Industries" based on our Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code. We have employees who do contract work for a company that is required to maintain OSHA 300 logs. The employees' work activities are directed and supervised by the other company, not us. In the event one of our employees is injured, how would the information be recorded since we are not required to maintain OSHA 300 logs?
Answer: Since the company you contract your employees out to directs and supervises the employees' work activity, then that company would record your employees' injuries and illnesses on their OSHA 300 logs (pdf).