Table of contents
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300 is a log of all recordable injuries and illnesses that occur in a workplace in a calendar year. It includes information such as the employee’s details, the injury or illness, and the circumstances of the incident.
Many US employers are required to maintain Form 300 under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements.
An employer must enter a recordable workplace injury or illness in OSHA Form 300 within 7 days of being notified about it. They must also complete OSHA Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report at the same time, and a Form 300A at the end of each year.
Form 300A is a summary of all work-related injuries and illnesses over a year that is certified by a company executive and posted in the workplace from February 1 to April 30 of the following year. Some employers are required to submit the information in Form 300A to OSHA electronically.
Employers must keep an OSHA Form 300 for 5 years after the period it covers and update it with any injuries or illnesses that are later discovered. They must also provide a copy to an employee on request.
A copy of Form 300 and its related forms are available on OSHA’s website.
Who Must Complete OSHA Form 300?
Most employers with 10 or more full-time employees are required to maintain a log of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses. Some low-risk industries are excluded from this requirement—a full list of exemptions is available here.
Employers must keep a separate OSHA Form 300 for each of their organization’s sites or establishments.
What is a recordable injury or illness?
If you’re required to maintain OSHA Form 300, you must log every recordable injury or illness sustained by an employee on your payroll or a worker whose work you supervise day-to-day.
A recordable injury or illness is any workplace injury or illness involving:
- medical treatment beyond first aid
- loss of consciousness
- a formal diagnosis of significant illness or injury
- death
- days off work
- restricted work responsibilities or transfer to another role
- cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured or cracked bone, or a punctured eardrum
- needlestick injury or cut from a contaminated sharp object
- the employee having to be medically removed under an OHSA health standard
- a confirmed tuberculosis infection after exposure to a known case of active tuberculosis
- a change in an employee’s hearing—a Standard Threshold Shift.
To be work-related, an injury or illness is one that a workplace event caused or contributed to or aggravated a pre-existing condition.
There are some exceptions to this.
- where an employee was present at the workplace as a member of the general public rather than as an employee—for example, returning to work after hours to pick something up
- injuries resulting from voluntary participation in a wellness program or medical, fitness, or recreational activity such as a lunchtime yoga class
- injuries or illness resulting from consuming food or drink for personal consumption—for example, an employee choking on an apple in their employer’s canteen
- the common cold or flu.
What Details Need To Be Included in OSHA Form 300?
When logging an incident on OSHA Form 300, there are details you must include.
- where the injury or illness occurred
- when the injury or illness occurred
- the nature of the injury or illness under one of the following categories:
- injury
- skin disorders such as eczema, dermatitis, or friction blisters
- respiratory condition—for example, asbestosis, occupational asthma, farmer’s lung
- poisoning by metals, gasses, solvents, insecticides, or other chemicals
- hearing loss
- all other illnesses—for example, frostbite, heatstroke, hepatitis, tumors
- the affected employee’s name and job title
- the number of calendar days off work the employee took, or the days they were on light or restricted duty.
Privacy cases
To protect their privacy, you are prohibited from entering an employee’s name on OSHA Form 300 in certain circumstances.
This applies to privacy cases—which involve confidential information about the following
- an injury or illness relating to an intimate body part or the reproductive system
- sexual assault
- mental illness
- HIV, hepatitis, or tuberculosis
- needlestick injuries or cuts from contaminated sharps
- where the employee requests their name be left off Form 300.
In these situations, you are required to keep a separate list of confidential names.
What Happens if You Don’t Complete OSHA Form 300?
You can be heavily fined for breaches of OSHA regulations, including failing to complete OSHA Form 300 where it is required.
Conclusion
Part of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s recordkeeping requirements, OSHA Form 300 is a log of all recordable illnesses and injuries. Most employers with 10 or more employees are required to maintain OSHA Form 300, along with related Forms 300A and 301.
The information you must include on Form 300 includes the employee’s details—unless it is a privacy case, the nature of the illness or injury, and how many days off work the employee required.
