The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a new reporting standard. The rule updates the list of industries that are exempt from the requirement to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records due to relatively low occupational injury and illness rates.
A list of included industries can be found here.
The revised rule retains the current requirement to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours and adds the requirement to report all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours. The rule went into effect on Jan. 1, 2015 for workplaces under OSHA jurisdiction.
Note: The new rule retains the exemption for any employer with ten or fewer employees, regardless of their industry classification, from the requirement to routinely keep records.
Virginia Enforcement Policy
As local Virginia government employees are not under OSHA, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) has created their own version of this policy.
According to Virginia Code § 40.1-51.1.D, every employer shall report to the DOLI within eight hours any work-related incident that results in:
- A fatality;
- The inpatient hospitalization of one or more persons;
- An amputation; and
- The loss of an eye.
The incident should be reported when it occurs, if possible. If it is not, the employer is required to report the incident within eight hours of the time that it is made known to any agent or employee of the employer. If an employee dies as a result of the incident, the employer is required to report the death to DOLI within eight hours of learning of the death.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “loss of an eye” mean? Loss of an eye is the physical removal of the eye. This includes enucleation (removal of the entire eyeball) and evisceration (contents of the eye and the cornea are removed but the sclera, or outer covering remain).
The loss of sight without the physical removal of the eye is not reportable under the requirements of this standard. However, a case involving loss of sight that results in the inpatient hospitalization of the worker within 24-hours of the work-related incident is reportable.
What does “amputation” mean? If it is an avulsion, the event does not need to be reported. If the diagnosis is amputation, the event must be reported.
If there is no available diagnosis by a health care professional, the employer should rely on the definition and examples of amputation included in the regulatory text of section 1904.39.
An avulsion is a surface trauma where all layers of the skin have been torn away, exposing the underlying structures. Examples of avulsion that do not need to be reported include deglovings, scalpings, fingernail and toenail avulsions, eyelid avulsions, tooth avulsions, and severed ears.
An amputation is the traumatic loss of a limb or other external body part. Amputations include a part, such as a limb or appendage that has been severed, cut off, amputated (either completely or partially); fingertip amputations with or without bone loss; medical amputations resulting from irreparable damage; amputations of body parts that have since been reattached. Amputations do not include avulsions, enucleations, deglovings, scalping, severed ears, or broken or chipped teeth.
Remember, employers are required to report amputations to OSHA when they learn that the reportable event occurred. The employer must report the event when he or she has information that the injury is a work-related amputation.
Is it reportable if an employee is admitted to the hospital? No, the employee must be admitted to the inpatient portion of the hospital for it to be reportable.
If an employee spends the night in the hospital, does it need to be reported as an inpatient hospitalization? OSHA defines inpatient hospitalization as a formal admission to the inpatient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment. An overnight stay does not determine whether the case is reportable or not.
If an employee is hospitalized as an inpatient and the only care or treatment provided is from OSHA’s “first aid list,” does the event become reportable? Yes. A work-related inpatient hospitalization involving any treatment needs to be reported to OSHA. The reporting requirement in the regulatory text of section 1904.39 does not limit care or treatment to “medical treatment beyond first aid.”
What if the injury that results in an amputation, loss of eyesight, or fatality does not occur during or immediately after the incident? If a fatality occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident, or if an inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye occurs within 24-hours of the work-related incident, then you must report the event to OSHA. If the fatality occurs after more than 30 days of the work-related incident, or if the inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye occurs after more than 24 hours after the work-related incident, then you do not have to report the event to OSHA. However, you must record the event on your OSHA injury and illness records, if you are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records.
What information do you need to provide when reporting the fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of eyesight? You must provide the following information:
1. Establishment name;
2. Location of the work-related incident;
3. Time of the work-related incident;
4. Type of reportable event (i.e., fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye);
5. Number of employees affected;
6. Names of the employees affected;
7. Your contact person and his or her phone number; and
8. A brief description of the work-related incident.
Do you need to report a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of eyesight that results from a motor vehicle on a public street or highway? Only if it occurs in a construction work zone. If the motor vehicle accident occurred on a public street or highway you must still record the event on your OSHA injury and illness records, if you are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records.
Do you have to report a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of eyesight if it occurs on a commercial or public transportation system? No, you do not have to report the incident if it occurred on a commercial or public transportation system (e.g., airplane, train, subway, or bus). However, you must record the event on your OSHA injury and illness records, if you are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records.
Do you have to report a fatality or inpatient hospitalization caused by a heart attack? If the heart attack is related to a work-related incident, you must report the fatality or inpatient hospitalization. Your local OSHA Area Office director will decide whether or not to investigate the incident.
While some of the changes that OSHA has put forth in this update are confusing, the basic requirements for reporting have not changed. If the injury to your employee does not result in a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of eyesight, nothing has changed.
If you have additional questions that are not answered above, please feel free to contact your VML Insurance Programs Safety Consultant.