COSS OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A construction company employs 9 workers year-round. Is it required to maintain an OSHA 300 Log?
- No, employers with 10 or fewer employees are partially exempt from routine recordkeeping (Correct answer)
- Yes, construction is a high-hazard industry with no size exemption
- Yes, all employers regardless of size must keep a 300 Log
- No, construction companies are exempt under the SIC code exemption
Correct answer: No, employers with 10 or fewer employees are partially exempt from routine recordkeeping
Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year are exempt from routine OSHA recordkeeping requirements.
Question 2: An employee voluntarily signs up for a company wellness program and sprains an ankle during a voluntary fitness class held on company property. How is this treated?
- Recordable because it occurred on company property
- Not recordable because the exception for voluntary wellness programs applies (Correct answer)
- Recordable because company property establishes the geographic presumption
- Not recordable only if the employee signs a waiver before participating
Correct answer: Not recordable because the exception for voluntary wellness programs applies
OSHA provides an exception for injuries sustained during voluntary participation in wellness programs, recreational activities, or fitness centers.
Question 3: For OSHA recordkeeping purposes, what does the term 'established treatment protocol' most directly affect?
- Whether an employer must file an 8-hour fatality report
- Whether a physician's first-aid treatment qualifies as medical treatment beyond first aid (Correct answer)
- Whether an injury is classified as an illness vs. an injury
- Whether a case must be reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Correct answer: Whether a physician's first-aid treatment qualifies as medical treatment beyond first aid
When a physician follows an established protocol and uses only first-aid treatment, that treatment does not elevate a case to recordable status.
Question 4: Which of the following scenarios triggers the OSHA requirement to report to OSHA within 24 hours (not 8 hours)?
- A work-related fatality
- An in-patient hospitalization of one employee (Correct answer)
- A work-related amputation
- A work-related loss of an eye
Correct answer: An in-patient hospitalization of one employee
The in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours of the employer learning of it.
Question 5: Under OSHA recordkeeping, which body part loss is specifically listed as requiring a report to OSHA within 24 hours even without hospitalization?
- Loss of a fingernail
- Amputation of any body part (Correct answer)
- Loss of a tooth
- Dislocation of a joint
Correct answer: Amputation of any body part
Work-related amputations and losses of an eye must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours regardless of whether hospitalization occurs.
Question 6: An employer's workers' compensation insurer classifies a claim as work-related, but the employer believes the injury is non-work-related. Whose determination governs OSHA recordkeeping?
- The workers' compensation insurer's determination controls
- The employer makes the final OSHA recordability determination based on OSHA criteria (Correct answer)
- OSHA issues a binding determination upon employer request
- The treating physician's opinion is the sole determinant
Correct answer: The employer makes the final OSHA recordability determination based on OSHA criteria
Workers' compensation determinations and OSHA recordability are independent; the employer must apply OSHA's own criteria to determine recordability.
Question 7: An employee is injured at a client's facility while working under the direction of the host employer. Which employer is responsible for recording the injury?
- The host employer where the injury occurred
- The employee's own (sending) employer (Correct answer)
- Both employers must record the case
- Neither employer — OSHA exempts multi-employer worksites
Correct answer: The employee's own (sending) employer
The employee's own employer (the one who pays their wages) is responsible for recording the injury, not the controlling or host employer.
COSS OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements 4
A construction company employs 9 workers year-round.
Is it required to maintain an OSHA 300 Log?