How to Check Out a Business on OSHA

OSHA forms 300 and 300A

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) was enacted for worker safety and health in the workplace after many years of attempts to allow industry to assume the responsibility. Every employer covered by OSHA and with 10 or more employees must keep injury and illness records using forms 300 and 300A Log and Summary. They must be maintained for a five-year period and available to employees and OSHA inspectors.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Printer
• Paper
• Acrobat reader software
• Online access
• OSHA 300 forms
• OSHA 300A log forms

Instructions

1. Download OSHA 300A Log and Summary forms for the past five years via OSHA's website. Collect current-year OSHA 300 Forms and add to your database. It will be posted by calendar year. For example, in February 2010, the calendar year 2009 data must be posted. They can be taken down after April 30. Also the log itself does not have to be posted. However, the information contained in the log must be posted.

2. Sort out the types and locations of the injuries or illness that occur and how frequently they've taken place. See if any deaths happened in the period due to accident or illness. This information will give you a recent history of illness or injury in the business.

3. Continue the tracking year by year and note any new injuries or illnesses or repeats in the frequency of occurrence of existing ones.

   The posting of OSHA 300 logs is required even without any employee-related injuries or illnesses during the entire year.

Tips & Warnings

• OSHA printouts are not set for standard-size paper. Set your printer to "Shrink to Fit" or use a larger paper to accommodate your printout.

• This is not a comprehensive checkout list for a business. OSHA is a very complex regulation and its inspectors are policemen. They see and fine. This is the nature of their job

• If you want some advice or have questions on what procedure you would like to determine as safe, contact the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Heath (NIOSH). They are the education and standard-setting group under the OSHA Act and are separate from OHSA enforcement. NIOSH can provide information and education and assist in resolving an issue before a violation occurs.

References

• Business Owner's Toolkit: OSHA forms 300 and 300A : Injury and Illness
• OSHA 300 Forms