OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements: Compliance Guide for Construction

Purpose of OSHA Recordkeeping

OSHA's recordkeeping requirements serve multiple important functions in the construction industry. Understanding these purposes helps supervisors appreciate why maintaining accurate records is more than just regulatory compliance—it's a valuable safety management tool.

Data Collection for Industry Analysis

The aggregated data from OSHA injury and illness records provides crucial insights into construction industry safety trends:

Identifies the most common types of injuries and illnesses
Reveals emerging hazard patterns
Allows comparison of injury rates across construction sectors
Informs OSHA's regulatory priorities and emphasis programs
Contributes to research on effective prevention strategies

This industry-wide perspective helps construction companies benchmark their performance and focus prevention efforts.

Hazard Identification and Prevention

At the company level, recordkeeping creates a systematic approach to identifying and addressing workplace hazards:

Highlights recurring injury patterns within the organization
Identifies high-risk tasks or operations
Provides data to evaluate safety program effectiveness
Helps supervisors recognize leading indicators before serious incidents occur
Documents near misses that could have resulted in serious injury

Proactive analysis of this data allows construction supervisors to implement targeted safety interventions.

Informing Workers About Hazards

OSHA recordkeeping regulations include requirements to share injury and illness information with employees:

The OSHA 300A summary must be posted annually for employee review
Employees (or their representatives) have the right to access the more detailed OSHA 300 Log
This transparency ensures workers are informed about workplace hazards
Knowledge of injury patterns helps workers take appropriate precautions
Access to records supports employee involvement in safety programs

This information sharing is particularly important in construction, where hazards can change frequently as project phases progress.

Legal Documentation

Beyond regulatory compliance, OSHA records provide important legal documentation:

Creates contemporaneous evidence of workplace incidents
Establishes dates, circumstances, and witnesses
Documents the company's response to injuries
May support or defend workers' compensation claims
Provides evidence of the company's safety performance history

Accurate, thorough records can protect both employers and employees in various legal contexts.

Covered Employers and Exemptions

Not all construction employers are subject to OSHA's recordkeeping requirements. Understanding who must maintain records helps supervisors determine their responsibilities.

Size-Based Exemption

The primary exemption is based on company size:

Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year are exempt from routine recordkeeping requirements
This count includes all employees on payroll, including part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers
The exemption is based on the size of the entire company, not individual worksites
If a company exceeds 10 employees at any point during the year, the exemption does not apply for the following year

For construction companies that fluctuate around this threshold, maintaining records even when exempt provides consistency and valuable safety data.

Limitations of the Size Exemption

Even exempt small employers must:

Report fatalities to OSHA within 8 hours
Report work-related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, or eye losses to OSHA within 24 hours
Maintain records if specifically requested by OSHA or BLS
Comply with any injury reporting requirements in state OSHA plans that exceed federal standards
Follow any project-specific recordkeeping requirements established by project owners or general contractors

Low-Hazard Industry Exemption

OSHA also exempts certain low-hazard industries based on North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. However, construction industries (NAICS 23XXXX) are NOT included in this exemption. All construction employers with more than 10 employees must maintain OSHA injury and illness records.

Multiple Establishment Requirements

Construction companies with multiple establishments (defined as single physical locations where business is conducted) have specific requirements:

Each establishment expected to exist for one year or longer must maintain separate OSHA 300 Logs
For establishments existing less than one year, records may be kept at a central location
For mobile work locations like construction sites, records may be maintained at a central location if:
- Information about each injury or illness is transferred to the central records within 7 calendar days
- Records can be produced when needed at the worksite, either by:
  - Producing copies at the site within 4 business hours, or
  - Having the information available electronically at the site

Most construction companies maintain centralized recordkeeping with systems to provide records at project sites when needed.

State Plan Variations

States with OSHA-approved state plans may have more stringent recordkeeping requirements. Notable variations affecting construction companies include:

Some states require records for employers with fewer than 10 employees
Some states have different reporting timelines for serious injuries
Some states require reporting of additional injury types not covered by federal OSHA
Electronic submission requirements may differ

Construction supervisors must check specific requirements in each state where they operate.

Recordable Injuries and Illnesses

Determining which injuries and illnesses must be recorded is often challenging for construction supervisors. OSHA applies specific criteria to make this determination.

General Recording Criteria

An injury or illness must be recorded if it results in any of the following:

Death
Days away from work
Restricted work activity or job transfer
Medical treatment beyond first aid
Loss of consciousness
Significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional
Any recordable criteria specified for particular types of injuries or illnesses

All of these criteria require that the case be work-related and a new case (not a recurrence).

Work-Relatedness Determination

An injury or illness is presumed work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition. The work environment includes:

The establishment location
Other locations where employees are working
Construction sites where employees are present for work purposes

Exceptions to Work-Relatedness

OSHA specifies cases where injuries occurring in the work environment are NOT considered work-related:

Present as a member of the general public
Symptoms arising in work environment that are solely due to non-work-related event/exposure
Voluntary participation in wellness programs or recreational activities
Eating, drinking, or preparing food for personal consumption
Personal tasks outside assigned working hours
Personal grooming or self-medication
Motor vehicle accidents in company parking lots while commuting
Common colds and flu
Mental illness, unless employee voluntarily provides a medical opinion confirming work-relatedness

These exceptions require careful documentation to justify not recording an otherwise recordable case.

Construction-Specific Work-Relatedness Issues

The construction industry presents unique work-relatedness challenges:

Mobile Worksites: Determining when employees are in the "work environment" when traveling between project locations
Extended Shifts: Determining work-relatedness for activities during extended stays at remote projects
Multiple Employers: Determining proper recording when injuries involve multiple contractors
Owner-Controlled Sites: Addressing recordkeeping when working within owner facilities with specific entry requirements

Each situation requires case-by-case evaluation based on OSHA's work-relatedness guidelines.

Medical Treatment vs. First Aid

A critical distinction in recordkeeping is between "medical treatment" (which makes a case recordable) and "first aid" (which does not). OSHA specifically defines first aid as ONLY the following treatments:

Using non-prescription medications at non-prescription strength
Administering tetanus immunizations
Cleaning, flushing, or soaking wounds on the skin surface
Using wound coverings, butterfly bandages, Steri-Strips (or similar)
Using hot or cold therapy
Using any non-rigid means of support (elastic bandages, wraps, non-rigid back belts)
Using temporary immobilization devices for transportation only
Drilling a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure, or draining fluid from blisters
Using eye patches
Removing foreign bodies from the eye using irrigation or cotton swab
Removing splinters or foreign material from areas other than the eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs, or other simple means
Using finger guards
Using massages (not including physical therapy or chiropractic treatment)
Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress

Any treatment not on this list is considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes.

Special Recording Criteria for Specific Cases

Some injuries and illnesses have special recording criteria:

Needlesticks and Sharps Injuries

All work-related needlesticks and sharps injuries involving exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials must be recorded, regardless of the severity.

Medical Removal

Cases where an employee is medically removed under the requirement of an OSHA standard must be recorded.

Occupational Hearing Loss

Recordable when an employee's hearing test shows a Standard Threshold Shift (STS) and the total hearing level is 25 decibels or more above audiometric zero in the same ear as the STS.

Tuberculosis

A positive TB skin test must be recorded when the employee has been exposed to someone with a known case of active tuberculosis.

Restricted Work or Job Transfer

A case is recordable when the employee:

Is unable to perform one or more routine job functions, or
Cannot work the full workday they would otherwise have been scheduled to work, or
Is assigned to a temporary job modification or transfer

Construction supervisors should note that "routine job functions" means activities the employee regularly performs at least once per week.

Required OSHA Forms and Records

OSHA's recordkeeping system uses three primary forms that construction companies must understand and properly maintain.

OSHA Form 300: Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

The OSHA 300 Log is the primary tracking document for workplace injuries and illnesses. Key requirements include:

Content Requirements

The Log must contain:

Case number (for each recordable case)
Employee name (except for privacy concern cases)
Employee job title
Date of injury or illness
Where the event occurred
Description of injury or illness, parts of body affected, and object/substance that directly caused the injury
Classification of the case (death, days away, restricted work, etc.)
Number of days away from work (if applicable)
Number of days of restricted work activity (if applicable)

Tracking Time Frames

Days away or days of restriction are counted as calendar days, not just scheduled workdays
Caps at 180 days for any single case
Count begins on the day after the injury or illness
Estimated days should be used if a case is still open when the annual summary is prepared

Privacy Concern Cases

For certain sensitive cases, the employee's name should not be entered on the OSHA 300 Log:

Injuries to intimate body parts
Sexual assaults
Mental illnesses
HIV infection, hepatitis, tuberculosis
Needlestick injuries and cuts from sharp objects contaminated with blood or infectious material
Other illnesses if the employee independently and voluntarily requests confidentiality

For these cases, enter "privacy case" in the name field and maintain a separate confidential list of case numbers and employee names.

OSHA Form 301: Injury and Illness Incident Report

The OSHA 301 Incident Report contains detailed information about each recordable injury or illness.

Completion Timeline

Must be completed within 7 calendar days after receiving information about a recordable case
Can be substituted with alternative forms (such as workers' compensation forms) if they contain all required information

Required Information

The form captures:

Detailed employee information
Healthcare professional and treatment facility information
Specific case details (how the injury occurred, what the employee was doing, what object or substance caused the injury)
The sequence of events leading to the injury
Injury specifics (what part of body affected, nature of injury)

Access Restrictions

Employee privacy must be protected
Personal information must be protected from unauthorized disclosure
Current or former employees (or their representatives) have the right to access their own OSHA 301 forms

OSHA Form 300A: Annual Summary

The Form 300A summarizes the previous year's injury and illness data from the OSHA 300 Log.

Content Requirements

The summary shows:

Total number of cases in each category
Total number of days away from work
Total number of days of restricted work activity
Totals for specific injury and illness types
Annual average number of employees
Total hours worked by all employees

Posting Requirements

Must be posted even if no recordable injuries or illnesses occurred
Must be posted from February 1 to April 30 each year
Must be displayed in a conspicuous location where notices to employees are customarily posted
Must not be altered, defaced, or covered by other material

Certification Requirement

Must be certified by a company executive
Executive must be an owner (for sole proprietorships), partner (for partnerships), officer of the corporation, the highest-ranking company official working at the establishment, or their immediate supervisor
Certification attests that the executive has examined the OSHA 300 Log and believes the summary is correct and complete

Electronic Submission Requirements

In addition to maintaining paper records, certain employers must electronically submit summary information to OSHA:

Who Must Submit

Construction establishments with 20-249 employees must submit Form 300A data
Construction establishments with 250+ employees must submit Form 300A data (but not the more detailed Forms 300 and 301)

Submission Timeline

Annual electronic submission by March 2 for the previous calendar year's data
Submissions are made through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application (ITA)

Special Considerations for Construction

Construction companies must determine reporting requirements for each establishment separately
For mobile construction sites, the establishment is typically the main office that oversees the site
Multi-employer construction sites may require coordination to avoid duplicate reporting
Companies must register in the ITA system and maintain login credentials

Maintaining and Updating Records

OSHA records are not static documents. They require ongoing maintenance and updates as cases evolve.

Retention Requirements

All required records must be maintained for five years following the end of the calendar year that the records cover. This includes:

OSHA 300 Logs
Privacy case lists
OSHA 301 Incident Reports
OSHA 300A Annual Summaries
Any equivalent forms used

During this period, records must be available for inspection by OSHA representatives, employees, former employees, and employee representatives.

Updating Existing Records

Records must be updated when new information becomes available:

If a case initially recorded as one type changes classification (e.g., from restricted work to days away)
When the number of days away or restricted changes
If a previously recorded case results in a death (within 30 days of the injury)
If a case initially thought to be recordable turns out not to be
If a case initially not recorded is later found to be recordable

Updates should be made by lining out or deleting the original entry and making a new entry. For electronic records, maintain audit trails of changes.

Employee Rights to Access Records

OSHA's recordkeeping regulation (29 CFR 1904.35) gives employees and their representatives specific rights:

Access to the OSHA 300 Log (current year and previous five years)
Access to the OSHA 300A Annual Summary
Access to their own OSHA 301 Incident Report (or equivalent)
Copies of records by the end of the next business day when requested

These rights apply to current employees, former employees, personal representatives, and authorized employee representatives (such as union officials).

Multiple Establishment Management

Construction companies with multiple projects or offices face additional recordkeeping challenges:

Decide whether to keep separate OSHA 300 Logs for each establishment or centralize records
Establish systems for timely information transfer from field locations to recordkeeping personnel
Develop processes to produce records quickly when needed at remote locations
Coordinate annual summary posting at all fixed locations
Create clear protocols for determining which establishment records an injury when employees work at multiple sites

Reporting Severe Injuries to OSHA

Beyond recordkeeping, construction employers must report certain serious incidents directly to OSHA, regardless of company size.

Reportable Events

The following events must be reported to OSHA:

All work-related fatalities within 8 hours
All work-related inpatient hospitalizations within 24 hours
All work-related amputations within 24 hours
All work-related losses of an eye within 24 hours

The reporting timeline begins when any agent or employee of the employer becomes aware of the reportable event.

How to Report

Employers can report these events by:

Calling the nearest OSHA Area Office
Calling the OSHA toll-free hotline: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742)
Reporting online via OSHA's website (except for fatalities, which must be reported by phone)

When reporting, be prepared to provide:

Business name
Names of affected employees
Time and location of the incident
Brief description of the incident
Contact person and phone number

Special Reporting Considerations for Construction

Construction sites present unique reporting challenges:

Establishing clear protocols for who will report incidents on multi-employer sites
Ensuring field supervisors know proper reporting procedures when working in remote locations
Coordinating with emergency services to determine when an inpatient hospitalization occurs
Documenting reporting to defend against potential failure-to-report citations
Understanding variations in state plan jurisdictions

Common Reporting Mistakes

Construction supervisors should avoid common reporting errors:

Waiting too long to report while gathering complete information
Failing to report hospitalizations that occur after the day of the incident
Not reporting amputations that don't involve bone loss
Assuming another employer will report an incident on a multi-employer site
Misunderstanding the definition of "inpatient hospitalization"

For reporting purposes, an inpatient hospitalization occurs when the patient is formally admitted to the hospital for care or observation. Emergency room treatment without formal admission is not reportable.

Recordkeeping Implementation Strategies

Beyond meeting regulatory requirements, effective recordkeeping systems support construction safety management.

Organizational Structure and Responsibilities

Clear assignment of recordkeeping responsibilities is essential:

Designate a recordkeeper with authority and access to necessary information
Establish backup personnel for continuity
Define roles for field supervisors in incident documentation
Specify responsibilities for executive certification of annual summaries
Create clear protocols for multi-establishment coordination

Information Collection Systems

Effective systems ensure accurate and timely injury information:

Create standardized incident report forms for field use
Develop electronic reporting options for remote projects
Establish clear timelines for injury/illness notification
Implement systematic case management tracking
Document decision-making for borderline recordable cases

Training and Communication

Key personnel must understand recordkeeping requirements:

Train field supervisors on recognizing potentially recordable incidents
Train recordkeepers on regulatory requirements and OSHA interpretations
Provide access to OSHA recordkeeping resources and guidance
Communicate recordkeeping procedures to all management levels
Include recordkeeping responsibilities in job descriptions

Quality Control Processes

Systems to verify recordkeeping accuracy help prevent violations:

Conduct periodic audits of recordkeeping documentation
Compare OSHA logs with other injury records (workers' compensation, insurance, etc.)
Review cases with medical providers to ensure proper classification
Validate electronic submissions before filing
Document recordkeeping decisions for questionable cases

Technology Solutions

Technology can improve recordkeeping efficiency and accuracy:

Electronic recordkeeping software with built-in OSHA criteria
Mobile applications for field incident reporting
Automated calculation of days away and restricted work
Digital record storage with appropriate security
Systems that flag potential recordability issues

Recordkeeping in Safety Management

Beyond compliance, recordkeeping data provides valuable information for safety management.

Trend Analysis and Prevention

Regular analysis of recordkeeping data reveals patterns:

Track injury types and body parts affected
Identify high-risk operations and activities
Analyze injury rates by project type, crew, or supervisor
Compare performance across time periods
Identify seasonal patterns or trends

This analysis helps target prevention efforts where they'll have the greatest impact.

Performance Measurement

OSHA recordkeeping data provides standardized metrics:

Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR)
Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) Rate
Days Away From Work (DAFW) Rate
Tracking rates over time to measure safety program effectiveness
Comparing company performance to industry benchmarks

These metrics are increasingly used by project owners and general contractors to prequalify subcontractors.

Program Evaluation

Recordkeeping data helps evaluate safety initiatives:

Measure impact of safety program changes
Identify areas where controls are effective
Determine when additional interventions are needed
Support resource allocation decisions
Demonstrate return on safety investments

Communication and Awareness

Sharing recordkeeping data increases safety awareness:

Include injury data in toolbox talks
Discuss trends in safety committee meetings
Communicate success stories when rates improve
Use specific examples (with personal information removed) for training
Post easy-to-understand metrics where employees can see them

Common Recordkeeping Violations

OSHA frequently cites employers for recordkeeping violations. Construction supervisors should be aware of common pitfalls.

Failure to Record Cases

The most common violation is simply failing to record recordable cases, typically due to:

Misunderstanding the recording criteria
Incorrectly applying the work-relatedness exemptions
Improperly classifying treatments as first aid
Failing to track cases that occur to temporary workers
Not recording cases without lost time or restrictions

Misclassification of Cases

Incorrectly classifying recorded cases leads to citations for:

Recording restricted work cases as "other recordable" cases
Not properly recording days away when employees miss scheduled work
Failing to update case classifications when severity changes
Not counting weekend days in days away calculations
Mishandling of cases involving temporary light duty

Form Completion and Maintenance

OSHA also cites for technical violations such as:

Not completing all required fields on the forms
Failing to prepare the annual summary
Not having executive certification on the summary
Improper handling of privacy concern cases
Not maintaining records for the required five-year period

Posting and Access Violations

Access-related violations include:

Failing to post the OSHA 300A summary during the required timeframe
Not providing employees access to records when requested
Failing to provide records within the next business day
Not maintaining records at the establishment or providing access within four hours
Posting summaries that omit required information

Electronic Submission Failures

Since implementing electronic submission requirements, OSHA has begun citing for:

Failing to submit data by the deadline
Submitting incomplete information
Not creating an account in the Injury Tracking Application
Submitting information for some but not all covered establishments
Not retaining electronic filing confirmation

State Plan Variations

Construction companies operating in states with state OSHA plans must be aware of state-specific recordkeeping requirements.

Major State Variations

Several states have requirements that exceed federal OSHA's:

California: Additional reporting requirements for serious injuries and illnesses
Washington: Different requirements for recording hearing loss cases
Oregon: More detailed requirements for recording workplace violence incidents
Minnesota: Different timeline requirements for record access
Michigan: Additional recordkeeping requirements for COVID-19 cases

Compliance Strategy for Multi-State Operations

Construction companies working across state lines should:

Maintain a state-by-state compliance matrix
Designate state-specific compliance personnel
Create recordkeeping systems that capture the most stringent requirements
Develop state-specific training for recordkeepers
Establish notification systems for regulatory changes in each state