OSHA RECORDKEEPING

OSHA Recordkeeping

OSHA Recordkeeping

This paper presents a critical analysis of an article, titled, “Excellence in OSHA record keeping pays off”, written by Jill Cox, an employee lawyer by profession. This article was published in June/July issue of “Paper 360”, a popular magazine in the year 2007. In this article the author has discussed the importance of keeping the OSHA records straight for the potential employees covered under the OSHA Act of 1970. She has rightly criticized the bizzare behavior of majority of the employees and employers as well for bearing negligence towards such a sensitive issue regarding employees occupational safety.

OSHA regulations require that employers keep thorough records, report on OSHA compliance regularly, and post OSHA standards for employees (Cox, 2007). Any employer who has more than 10 employees, except for a few low-hazard exceptions, must keep three different types of records. These records are an OSHA Form 300 injury and illness log, an OSHA Form 301 individual incident report which provides more specific details of injuries, illnesses, or accidents from the OSHA form 300, and a national survey by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics on workplace safety which happens annually if a company is selected to participate by its state government.

Reports must be provided by all employers to the nearest OSHA office if there is an accident or occurrence which results in the death of any employee or the hospitalization of more than three employees. The report must be provided to the office within eight hours since an incident originally took place. As a result of the required report, OSHA officials may examine the circumstances surrounding a death or hospitalization to determine if safety or health standards were violated.

The author of the article, Jill Cox has outlined some of the standards that should be taken care of on ...