Employee Medical and Exposure Records

Chapter 296-802, WAC

Effective Date: 08/01/04
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WAC 296-802-200

Keep Employee Medical and Exposure Records

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Your Responsibility:

To keep employee medical records, exposure records, and analyses

IMPORTANT:

  • Physicians or other health care personnel may keep medical records for you.
  • You may keep information in any form as long as the information is retrievable.
  • Unless a specific occupational safety and health rule provides a different time period, you must keep records for the period required by this chapter.

You must

Keep employee medical records

WAC 296-802-20005

Keep employee exposure records

WAC 296-802-20010

Keep analyses of medical or exposure records

WAC 296-802-20015

 

WAC 296-802-20005

Keep employee medical records

You must

  • Keep medical records for at least as long as the employee works for you plus 30 years.
Exemption

Exemption:

  • If an employee works for you for less than one year and you provide the records to them when they leave employment, you don’t have to keep their medical records.
  • You don’t have to keep the following records for any specific period:
    • – Health insurance claims records maintained separately from your medical program and records
    • – Records of first-aid treatment, if made on-site by a non-physician and if kept separately from the employee medical record.


You must

  • Keep chest x-ray films in their original state, such as film or electronic image.

WAC 296-802-20010

Keep employee exposure records

IMPORTANT:

You don’t need to keep employee exposure records for exposure to toxic substances when they are:

  • Purchased as a consumer product


    and

  • Used in the same manner and frequency that a consumer would use them.

You must

  • Keep employee exposure records for at least 30 years from the date the exposure record was made. These records include the following:

    – The sampling results

    – The collection methodology (sampling plan)

    – A description of the analytical and mathematical methods used

    – Background data to environmental monitoring or measuring, such as laboratory reports and work sheets.

Note

Note:

You don’t have to keep the actual background data for more than one year if you keep a summary of the data for 30 years.

 

You must

Keep a record, for at least 30 years, of the identity of any toxic substance used in your workplace. Include:

  • Where the substance was used
  • When the substance was used.

 

Note

Note:

The identity may be retained either as part of the exposure record or as a separate record.

 

Helpful Tool

 Helpful Tool:
Record Retention
This helpful tool provides a list of other WISHA rules that require medical or exposure records and their retention periods.

 

WAC 296-802-20015
Keep analyses of medical or exposure records

You must

  • Keep each analysis using medical or exposure records for at least 30 years.