WAC

296-27-00101 Purpose and scope.

296-27-00103 Partial exemption for employers with ten or fewer employees.

296-27-00105 Partial exemption for private employers in certain industries.

296-27-00107 Keeping records for more than one agency.

296-27-00109 Nonmandatory appendix to this section-Partially exempt industries.

296-27-011 Recordkeeping forms and recording criteria.

296-27-01101 Recording criteria.

296-27-01103 Determination of work-relatedness.

296-27-01105 Determination of new cases.

296-27-01107 General recording criteria.

296-27-01109 Recording criteria for needlestick and sharps injuries.

296-27-01111 Recording criteria for cases involving medical removal under OSHA standards.

296-27-01113 Recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss.

296-27-01115 Recording criteria for work-related tuberculosis cases.

296-27-01119 Forms.

296-27-021 Other injury and illness recordkeeping requirements.

296-27-02101 Multiple business establishments.

296-27-02103 Covered employees.

296-27-02105 Annual summary.

296-27-02107 Retention and updating.

296-27-02109 Change in business ownership.

296-27-02111 Employee involvement.

296-27-02113 Prohibition against discrimination.

296-27-02117 Variances from the recordkeeping rule.

296-27-031 Reporting fatality, injury, and illness information.

296-27-03101 Providing records to government representatives.

296-27-03103 Annual OSHA injury and illness survey.

296-27-03105 Requests from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for data.

296-27-041 Transition from the former rule.

296-27-04101 Summary and posting of the 2001 data.

296-27-04103 Retention and updating of old forms.

296-27-051 Definitions.

296-27-05101 Definitions.

296-27-061 Non-Mandatory Appendix A--Age adjustment calculations for comparing audiograms for recording hearing loss.

Related Information

Forms

OSHA Recordkeeping Forms Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

OSHA 300 Forms(Microsoft Excel) Fillable version of OSHA 300 forms in Microsoft Excel format.

WAC 296-27-00101 Purpose and scope.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this standard is to require employers to record and report work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses.

Note 1: Recording or reporting a work-related injury, illness, or fatality does not mean that the employer or employee was at fault, that a rule has been violated, or that the employee is eligible for workers' compensation or other benefits.

(2) Scope. All employers covered by the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA) are covered by this standard. However, most employers do not have to keep injury and illness records unless WISHA, OSHA, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) informs them in writing that they must keep records. For example, employers with ten or fewer employees and business establishments in certain industry classifications are partially exempt from keeping injury and illness records.

Note: The recordkeeping and reporting requirements of this chapter are separate and distinct from the recordkeeping and reporting requirements under Title 51 RCW (the Industrial Insurance Act) unless otherwise noted in this chapter.

WAC 296-27-00103 Partial exemption for employers with ten or fewer employees.

(1) Basic requirement.

(a) If your company had ten or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you do not need to keep injury and illness records unless WISHA, OSHA, or the BLS informs you in writing that you must keep records under this section. However, as required by WAC 296-27-031, all employers covered by the WISH Act must report any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the hospitalization of any employee.

(b) If your company had more than ten employees at any time during the last calendar year, you must keep injury and illness records unless your establishment is classified as a partially exempt industry under WAC 296-27-00105.

(2) Implementation.

(a) Is the partial exemption for size based on the size of my entire company or on the size of an individual business establishment? The partial exemption for size is based on the number of employees in the entire company.

(b) How do I determine the size of my company to find out if I qualify for the partial exemption for size? To determine if you are exempt because of size, you need to determine your company's peak employment during the last calendar year. If you had no more than ten employees at any time in the last calendar year, your company qualifies for the partial exemption for size.

WAC 296-27-00105 Partial exemption for private employers in certain industries.

(1) Basic requirement.

(a) If your private business establishment is classified in a specific low hazard retail, service, finance, insurance or real estate industry listed in Table 1 you do not need to keep injury and illness records unless WISHA, OSHA, or the BLS asks you to keep the records under WAC 296-27-03105 or 296-27-03107. (Public employers are not included in this exemption, except as indicated in (b) of this subsection.) However, all employers must report to WISHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the in-patient hospitalization of any employee (see WAC 296-800-32005).

(b) If you are a public employer in SIC 821 (elementary and secondary schools) and 823 (libraries), you do not need to keep injury and illness records unless WISHA, OSHA or the BLS asks you to keep the records under WAC 296-27-03105 or 296-27-03107. However, all employers must report to WISHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the in-patient hospitalization of any employee (see WAC 296-800-32005).

(c) If one or more of your company's establishments are classified in a nonexempt industry, you must keep injury and illness records for all of such establishments unless your company is partially exempted because of size under WAC 296-27-00103.

(2) Implementation.

(a) Does the partial industry classification exemption apply only to business establishments in the retail, services, finance, insurance or real estate industries (SICs 52-89)? Yes, business establishments classified in agriculture; mining; construction; manufacturing; transportation; communication, electric, gas and sanitary services; or wholesale trade are not eligible for the partial industry classification exemption.

(b) Is the partial industry classification exemption based on the industry classification of my entire company or on the classification of individual business establishments operated by my company? The partial industry classification exemption applies to individual business establishments. If a company has several business establishments engaged in different classes of business activities, some of the company's establishments may be required to keep records, while others may be exempt.

(c) How do I determine the Standard Industrial Classification code for my company or for individual establishments? You determine your Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code by using the Standard Industrial Classification manual, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget. You may contact your local L&I office for help in determining your SIC or visit Department of Revenue's website, <http://dor.wa.gov/content/Statistical_Reports/qbrSearch/SIC_List.htm>.

WAC 296-27-00107 Keeping records for more than one agency. 

If you create records to comply with another government agency's injury and illness recordkeeping requirements, OSHA will consider those records as meeting federal recordkeeping requirements if OSHA accepts the other agency's records under a memorandum of understanding with that agency, or if the other agency's records contain the same information as required by 29 CFR, Part 1904 requires you to record. You may contact WISHA or your local L&I office for help in determining whether your records meet OSHA's requirements.

WAC 296-27-00109 Nonmandatory appendix to this section-Partially exempt industries.

Employers are not required to keep OSHA injury and illness records for any establishment classified in the following Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, unless they are asked in writing to do so by WISHA, OSHA, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). All employers, including those partially exempted by reason of company size or industry classification, must report to WISHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the in-patient hospitalization of any employee. (See WAC 296-800-32005).

See Table "1" at the end of this document.

WAC 296-27-011 Recordkeeping forms and recording criteria. 

This section describes the work-related injuries and illnesses that an employer must enter into the OSHA records and explains the OSHA forms that employers must use to record work-related fatalities, injuries, and illnesses.

WAC 296-27-01101 Recording criteria.

(1) Basic requirement. Each employer required by this chapter to keep records of fatalities, injuries, and illnesses must record each fatality, injury and illness that:

• Is work-related;

• Is a new case; and

• Meets one or more of the general recording criteria of WAC 296-27-01107 or the application to specific cases of WAC 296-27-01109 through 296-27-01117.

(2) Implementation.

(a) What sections of this rule describe recording criteria for recording work-related injuries and illnesses? The table below indicates which sections of the rule address each topic.

(i) Determination of work-relatedness. See WAC 296-27-01103. 

(ii) Determination of a new case. See WAC 296-27-01105.

(iii) General recording criteria. See WAC 296-27-01107.

(iv) Additional criteria. (Needlestick and sharps injury cases, tuberculosis cases, hearing loss cases, medical removal cases, and musculoskeletal disorder cases). See WAC 296-27-01109 through 296-27-01117.

(b) How do I decide whether a particular injury or illness is recordable? The decision tree for recording work-related injuries and illnesses below shows the steps involved in making this determination.

(c) May I be required to keep other records or report additional information? Yes, the director may require that additional records be kept or additional information reported to achieve the purpose of the WISH Act.

WAC 296-27-01103 Determination of work-relatedness.

(1) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a preexisting injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in WAC 296-27-01103 (2)(b) specifically applies.

(2) Implementation.

(a) What is the "work environment"? Work environment is defined as "the establishment and other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment. The work environment includes not only physical locations, but also the equipment or materials used by the employee during the course of his or her work."

(b) Are there situations where an injury or illness occurs in the work environment and is not considered work-related? Yes, an injury or illness occurring in the work environment that falls under one of the following exceptions is not work-related, and therefore is not recordable.

You are not required to record injuries and illnesses if:

• At the time of the injury or illness, the employee was present in the work environment as a member of the general public rather than as an employee.

• The injury or illness involves signs or symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a nonwork-related event or exposure that occurs outside the work environment.

• The injury or illness results solely from voluntary participation in a wellness program or in a medical, fitness, or recreational activity such as blood donation, physical examination, flu shot, exercise class, racquetball, or baseball.

• The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee eating, drinking, or preparing food or drink for personal consumption (whether bought on the employer's premises or brought in). For example, if the employee is injured by choking on a sandwich while in the employer's establishment, the case would not be considered work-related.

Note: If the employee is made ill by ingesting food contaminated by workplace contaminants (such as lead), or gets food poisoning from food supplied by the employer, the case would be considered work-related.

• The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to their employment) at the establishment outside of the employee's assigned working hours.

• The injury or illness is solely the result of personal grooming, self medication for a nonwork-related condition, or is intentionally self-inflicted.

• The injury or illness is caused by a motor vehicle accident and occurs on a company parking lot or company access road while the employee is commuting to or from work.

• The illness is the common cold or flu.

Note: Contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, hepatitis A, or plague are considered work-related if the employee is infected at work.

• The illness is a mental illness. Mental illness will not be considered work-related unless the employee voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that the employee has a mental illness that is work-related.

(c) How do I handle a case if it is not obvious whether the precipitating event or exposure occurred in the work environment or occurred away from work? In these situations, you must evaluate the employee's work duties and environment to decide whether or not one or more events or exposures in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a preexisting condition.

(d) How do I know if an event or exposure in the work environment "significantly aggravated" a preexisting injury or illness? A preexisting injury or illness has been significantly aggravated, for purposes of injury and illness recordkeeping, when an event or exposure in the work environment results in any of the following:

• Death, provided that the preexisting injury or illness would likely not have resulted in death but for the occupational event or exposure.

• Loss of consciousness, provided that the preexisting injury or illness would likely not have resulted in loss of consciousness but for the occupational event or exposure.

• One or more days away from work, or days of restricted work, or days of job transfer that otherwise would not have occurred but for the occupational event or exposure.

• Medical treatment in a case where no medical treatment was needed for the injury or illness before the workplace event or exposure, or a change in medical treatment was necessitated by the workplace event or exposure.

(e) Which injuries and illnesses are considered preexisting conditions? An injury or illness is a preexisting condition if it resulted solely from a nonwork-related event or exposure that occurred outside the work environment.

(f) How do I decide whether an injury or illness is work-related if the employee is on travel status at the time the injury or illness occurs? Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is on travel status are work-related if, at the time of the injury or illness, the employee was engaged in work activities "in the interest of the employer." Examples of such activities include travel to and from customer contacts, conducting job tasks, and entertaining or being entertained to transact, discuss, or promote business (work-related entertainment includes only entertainment activities being engaged in at the direction of the employer).

Injuries or illnesses that occur when the employee is on travel status do not have to be recorded if they meet one of the exceptions listed below.

(g) How do I decide if a case is work-related when the employee is working at home? Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is working at home, including work in a home office, will be considered work-related if the injury or illness occurs while the employee is performing work for pay or compensation in the home, and the injury or illness is directly related to the performance of work rather than to the general home environment or setting. For example, if an employee drops a box of work documents and injures his or her foot, the case is considered work-related. If an employee's fingernail is punctured by a needle from a sewing machine used to perform garment work at home, becomes infected and requires medical treatment, the injury is considered work-related. If an employee is injured because he or she trips on the family dog while rushing to answer a work phone call, the case is not considered work-related. If an employee working at home is electrocuted because of faulty home wiring, the injury is not considered work-related.

WAC 296-27-01105 Determination of new cases.

(1) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be a "new case" if:

(a) The employee has not previously experienced a recorded injury or illness of the same type that affects the same part of the body; or

(b) The employee previously experienced a recorded injury or illness of the same type that affected the same part of the body but had recovered completely (all signs and symptoms had disappeared) from the previous injury or illness and an event or exposure in the work environment caused the signs or symptoms to reappear.

(2) Implementation.

(a) When an employee experiences the signs or symptoms of a chronic work-related illness, do I need to consider each recurrence of signs or symptoms to be a new case? No, for occupational illnesses where the signs or symptoms may recur or continue in the absence of an exposure in the workplace, the case must only be recorded once. Examples may include occupational cancer, asbestosis, byssinosis and silicosis.

(b) When an employee experiences the signs or symptoms of an injury or illness as a result of an event or exposure in the workplace, such as an episode of occupational asthma, must I treat the episode as a new case? Yes, because the episode or recurrence was caused by an event or exposure in the workplace, the incident must be treated as a new case.

(c) May I rely on a physician or other licensed health care professional to determine whether a case is a new case or a recurrence of an old case? You are not required to seek the advice of a physician or other licensed health care professional. However, if you do seek such advice, you must follow the physician or other licensed health care professional's recommendation about whether the case is a new case or a recurrence. If you receive recommendations from two or more physicians or other licensed health care professionals, you must make a decision as to which recommendation is the most authoritative (best documented, best reasoned, or most authoritative), and record the case based upon that recommendation.

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WAC 296-27-01107 General recording criteria.

(1) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: Death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.

(2) Implementation.

(a) How do I decide if a case meets one or more of the general recording criteria? A work-related injury or illness must be recorded if it results in one or more of the following:

(i) Death. See (b) of this subsection.

(ii) Days away from work. See (c) of this subsection.

(iii) Restricted work or transfer to another job. See (d) of this subsection.

(iv) Medical treatment beyond first aid. See (e) of this subsection.

(v) Loss of consciousness. See (f) of this subsection.

(vi) A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional. See (g) of this subsection.

(b) How do I record a work-related injury or illness that results in the employee's death? You must record an injury or illness that results in death by entering a check mark on the OSHA 300 Log in the space for cases resulting in death. You must also report any work-related fatality to WISHA within eight hours, as required by WAC 296-800-32005.

(c) How do I record a work-related injury or illness that results in days away from work? When an injury or illness involves one or more days away from work, you must record the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log with a check mark in the space for cases involving days away and an entry of the number of calendar days away from work in the number of days column. If the employee is out for an extended period of time, you must enter an estimate of the days that the employee will be away, and update the day count when the actual number of days is known.

(i) Do I count the day on which the injury occurred or the illness began? No, you begin counting days away on the day after the injury occurred or the illness began.

(ii) How do I record an injury or illness when a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the worker stay at home but the employee comes to work anyway? You must record these injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 Log using the check box for cases with days away from work and enter the number of calendar days away recommended by the physician or other licensed health care professional. If a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends days away, you should encourage your employee to follow that recommendation. However, the days away must be recorded whether the injured or ill employee follows the physician or licensed health care professional's recommendation or not. If you receive recommendations from two or more physicians or other licensed health care professionals, you may make a decision as to which recommendation is the most authoritative, and record the case based upon that recommendation.

(iii) How do I handle a case when a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the worker return to work but the employee stays at home anyway? In this situation, you must end the count of days away from work on the date the physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the employee return to work.

(iv) How do I count weekends, holidays, or other days the employee would not have worked anyway? You must count the number of calendar days the employee was unable to work as a result of the injury or illness, regardless of whether or not the employee was scheduled to work on those day(s). Weekend days, holidays, vacation days or other days off are included in the total number of days recorded if the employee would not have been able to work on those days because of a work-related injury or illness.

(v) How do I record a case in which a worker is injured or becomes ill on a Friday and reports to work on a Monday, and was not scheduled to work on the weekend? You need to record this case only if you receive information from a physician or other licensed health care professional indicating that the employee should not have worked, or should have performed only restricted work, during the weekend. If so, you must record the injury or illness as a case with days away from work or restricted work, and enter the day counts, as appropriate.

(vi) How do I record a case in which a worker is injured or becomes ill on the day before scheduled time off such as a holiday, a planned vacation, or a temporary plant closing? You need to record a case of this type only if you receive information from a physician or other licensed health care professional indicating that the employee should not have worked, or should have performed only restricted work, during the scheduled time off. If so, you must record the injury or illness as a case with days away from work or restricted work, and enter the day counts, as appropriate.

(vii) Is there a limit to the number of days away from work I must count? Yes, you may "cap" the total days away at one hundred eighty calendar days. You are not required to keep track of the number of calendar days away from work if the injury or illness resulted in more than one hundred eighty calendar days away from work and/or days of job transfer or restriction. In such a case, entering one hundred eighty in the total days away column will be considered adequate.

(viii) May I stop counting days if an employee who is away from work because of an injury or illness retires or leaves my company? Yes, if the employee leaves your company for some reason unrelated to the injury or illness, such as retirement, a plant closing, or to take another job, you may stop counting days away from work or days of restriction/job transfer. If the employee leaves your company because of the injury or illness, you must estimate the total number of days away or days of restriction/job transfer and enter the day count on the 300 Log.

(ix) If a case occurs in one year but results in days away during the next calendar year, do I record the case in both years? No, you only record the injury or illness once. You must enter the number of calendar days away for the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log for the year in which the injury or illness occurred. If the employee is still away from work because of the injury or illness when you prepare the annual summary, estimate the total number of calendar days you expect the employee to be away from work, use this number to calculate the total for the annual summary, and then update the initial log entry later when the day count is known or reaches the one hundred eighty day cap.

(d) How do I record a work-related injury or illness that results in restricted work or job transfer? When an injury or illness involves restricted work or job transfer but does not involve death or days away from work, you must record the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log by placing a check mark in the space for job transfer or restriction and an entry of the number of restricted or transferred days in the restricted workdays column.

(i) How do I decide if the injury or illness resulted in restricted work? Restricted work occurs when, as the result of a work-related injury or illness:

You keep the employee from performing one or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or from working the full workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to work; or

A physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the employee not perform one or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or not work the full workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to work.

(ii) What is meant by "routine functions"? For recordkeeping purposes, an employee's routine functions are those work activities the employee regularly performs at least once per week.

(iii) Do I have to record restricted work or job transfer if it applies only to the day on which the injury occurred or the illness began? No, you do not have to record restricted work or job transfers if you, or the physician or other licensed health care professional, impose the restriction or transfer only for the day on which the injury occurred or the illness began.

(iv) If you or a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends a work restriction, is the injury or illness automatically recordable as a "restricted work" case? No, a recommended work restriction is recordable only if it affects one or more of the employee's routine job functions. To determine whether this is the case, you must evaluate the restriction in light of the routine functions of the injured or ill employee's job. If the restriction from you or the physician or other licensed health care professional keeps the employee from performing one or more of his or her routine job functions, or from working the full workday the injured or ill employee would otherwise have worked, the employee's work has been restricted and you must record the case.

(v) How do I record a case where the worker works only for a partial work shift because of a work-related injury or illness? A partial day of work is recorded as a day of job transfer or restriction for recordkeeping purposes, except for the day on which the injury occurred or the illness began.

(vi) If the injured or ill worker produces fewer goods or services than he or she would have produced prior to the injury or illness but otherwise performs all of the routine functions of his or her work, is the case considered a restricted work case? No, the case is considered restricted work only if the worker does not perform all of the routine functions of his or her job or does not work the full shift that he or she would otherwise have worked.

(vii) How do I handle vague restrictions from a physician or other licensed health care professional, such as that the employee engage only in "light duty" or "take it easy for a week"? If you are not clear about the physician or other licensed health care professional's recommendation, you may ask that person whether the employee can do all of his or her routine job functions and work all of his or her normally assigned work shift. If the answer to both of these questions is "Yes," then the case does not involve a work restriction and does not have to be recorded as such. If the answer to one or both of these questions is "No," the case involves restricted work and must be recorded as a restricted work case. If you are unable to obtain this additional information from the physician or other licensed health care professional who recommended the restriction, record the injury or illness as a case involving restricted work.

(viii) What do I do if a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends a job restriction meeting the definition, but the employee does all of his or her routine job functions anyway? You must record the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log as a restricted work case. If a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends a job restriction, you should ensure that the employee complies with that restriction. If you receive recommendations from two or more physicians or other licensed health care professionals, you may make a decision as to which recommendation is the most authoritative, and record the case based upon that recommendation.

(ix) How do I decide if an injury or illness involved a transfer to another job? If you assign an injured or ill employee to a job other than his or her regular job for part of the day, the case involves transfer to another job.

Note: This does not include the day on which the injury or illness occurred.

(x) Are transfers to another job recorded in the same way as restricted work cases? Yes, both job transfer and restricted work cases are recorded in the same box on the OSHA 300 Log. For example, if you assign, or a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that you assign, an injured or ill worker to his or her routine job duties for part of the day and to another job for the rest of the day, the injury or illness involves a job transfer. You must record an injury or illness that involves a job transfer by placing a check in the box for job transfer.

(xi) How do I count days of job transfer or restriction? You count days of job transfer or restriction in the same way you count days away from work, using (c)(i) through (viii) of this subsection. The only difference is that, if you permanently assign the injured or ill employee to a job that has been modified or permanently changed in a manner that eliminates the routine functions the employee was restricted from performing, you may stop the day count when the modification or change is made permanent. You must count at least one day of restricted work or job transfer for such cases.

(e) How do I record an injury or illness that involves medical treatment beyond first aid? If a work-related injury or illness results in medical treatment beyond first aid, you must record it on the OSHA 300 Log. If the injury or illness did not involve death, one or more days away from work, one or more days of restricted work, or one or more days of job transfer, you enter a check mark in the box for cases where the employee received medical treatment but remained at work and was not transferred or restricted.

(i) What is the definition of medical treatment? "Medical treatment" means the management and care of a patient to combat disease or disorder. For the purposes of this section, medical treatment does not include:

• Visits to a physician or other licensed health care professional solely for observation or counseling;

• The conduct of diagnostic procedures, such as x-rays and blood tests, including the administration of prescription medications used solely for diagnostic purposes (e.g., eye drops to dilate pupils); or

"First aid" as defined in (e) of this subsection.

(ii) What is "first aid"? For the purposes of this section, "first aid" means the following:

• Using a nonprescription medication at nonprescription strength (for medications available in both prescription and nonprescription form, a recommendation by a physician or other licensed health care professional to use a nonprescription medication at prescription strength is considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes);

• Administering tetanus immunizations (other immunizations, such as Hepatitis B vaccine or rabies vaccine, are considered medical treatment);

• Cleaning, flushing or soaking wounds on the surface of the skin;

• Using wound coverings such as bandages, Band-AidsT, gauze pads, etc.; or using butterfly bandages or Steri-StripsT (other wound closing devices such as sutures, staples, etc., are considered medical treatment);

• Using hot or cold therapy;

• Using any nonrigid means of support, such as elastic bandages, wraps, nonrigid back belts, etc. (devices with rigid stays or other systems designed to immobilize parts of the body are considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes);

• Using temporary immobilization devices while transporting an accident victim (e.g., splints, slings, neck collars, back boards, etc.);

• Drilling of a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure, or draining fluid from a blister;

• Using eye patches;

• Removing foreign bodies from the eye using only irrigation or a 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 (physical therapy or chiropractic treatment are considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes); or

• Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress.

(iii) Are any other procedures included in first aid? No, this is a complete list of all treatments considered first aid for the purpose of this section.

(iv) Does the professional status of the person providing the treatment have any effect on what is considered first aid or medical treatment? No, the treatments listed in (e)(ii) of this subsection are considered to be first aid regardless of the professional status of the person providing the treatment. Even when these treatments are provided by a physician or other licensed health care professional, they are considered first aid for the purposes of this section. Similarly, treatment beyond first aid is considered to be medical treatment even when it is provided by someone other than a physician or other licensed health care professional.

(v) What if a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends medical treatment but the employee does not follow the recommendation? If a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends medical treatment, you should encourage the injured or ill employee to follow that recommendation. However, you must record the case even if the injured or ill employee does not follow the physician or other licensed health care professional's recommendation.

(f) Is every work-related injury or illness case involving a loss of consciousness recordable? Yes, you must record a work-related injury or illness if the worker becomes unconscious, regardless of the length of time the employee remains unconscious.

(g) What is a "significant" diagnosed injury or illness that is recordable under the general criteria even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness? Work-related cases involving cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured or cracked bone, or a punctured eardrum must always be recorded under the general criteria at the time of diagnosis by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

Note: OSHA believes that most significant injuries and illnesses will result in one of the criteria listed in WAC 296-27-01107(1): Death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. However, there are some significant injuries, such as a punctured eardrum or a fractured toe or rib, for which neither medical treatment nor work restrictions may be recommended. In addition, there are some significant progressive diseases, such as byssinosis, silicosis, and some types of cancer, for which medical treatment or work restrictions may not be recommended at the time of diagnosis but are likely to be recommended as the disease progresses. Cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked bones, and punctured eardrums are generally considered significant injuries and illnesses, and must be recorded at the initial diagnosis, even if medical treatment or work restrictions are not recommended, or are postponed, in a particular case.

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WAC 296-27-01109 Recording criteria for needlestick and sharps injuries.

(1) Basic requirement. You must record all work-related needlestick injuries and cuts from sharp objects that are contaminated with another person's blood or other potentially infectious material (as defined by chapter 296-823 WAC, Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens). You must enter the case on the OSHA 300 Log as an injury. To protect the employee's privacy, you may not enter the employee's name on the OSHA 300 Log (see the requirements for privacy cases in WAC 296-27-01119).

(2) Implementation.

(a) What does "other potentially infectious materials" mean? The term "other potentially infectious materials" is defined in the bloodborne pathogens portion of Part J (Biological Agents) of chapter 296-62 WAC, General occupational health standards. These materials include:

• The following human body fluids: Semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood, and all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids;

• Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human (living or dead); and

• HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and HIV- or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV.

(b) Does this mean that I must record all cuts, lacerations, punctures, and scratches? No, you need to record cuts, lacerations, punctures, and scratches only if they are work-related and involve contamination with another person's blood or other potentially infectious material. If the cut, laceration, or scratch involves a clean object, or a contaminant other than blood or other potentially infectious material, you need to record the case only if it meets one or more of the recording criteria in WAC 296-27-01107.

(c) If I record an injury and the employee is later diagnosed with an infectious bloodborne disease, do I need to update the OSHA 300 Log? Yes, you must update the classification of the case on the OSHA 300 Log if the case results in death, days away from work, restricted work, or job transfer. You must also update the description to identify the infectious disease and change the classification of the case from an injury to an illness.

(d) What if one of my employees is splashed or exposed to blood or other potentially infectious material without being cut or scratched? Do I need to record this incident? You need to record such an incident on the OSHA 300 Log as an illness if:

(i) It results in the diagnosis of a bloodborne illness, such as HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C; or

(ii) It meets one or more of the recording criteria in WAC 296-27-01107.

WAC 296-27-01111 Recording criteria for cases involving medical removal under OSHA standards.

(1) Basic requirement. If an employee is medically removed under the medical surveillance requirements, you must record the case on the OSHA 300 Log.

(2) Implementation.

(a) How do I classify medical removal cases on the OSHA 300 Log? You must enter each medical removal case on the OSHA 300 Log as either a case involving days away from work or a case involving restricted work activity, depending on how you decide to comply with the medical removal requirement. If the medical removal is the result of a chemical exposure, you must enter the case on the OSHA 300 Log by checking the "poisoning" column.

(b) Do all standards have medical removal provisions? No, some OSHA standards, such as the standards covering bloodborne pathogens and noise, do not have medical removal provisions. Many standards that cover specific chemical substances have medical removal provisions. These standards include, but are not limited to, lead, cadmium, methylene chloride, formaldehyde, and benzene.

(c) Do I have to record a case where I voluntarily removed the employee from exposure before the medical removal criteria are met? No, if the case involves voluntary medical removal before the medical removal levels required by this standard, you do not need to record the case on the OSHA 300 Log.

WAC 296-27-01113 Recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss.

(1) Basic requirement. You must record a hearing loss case on the OSHA Log if an employee's hearing test (audiogram) reveals that a recordable threshold shift (RTS) in one or both ears has occurred.

(2) Implementation.

(a) How do I evaluate the current audiogram to determined whether a recordable threshold shift has occurred?

(i) If the employee has never previously experienced a recorded hearing loss, you must compare the employee's current audiogram with that employee's baseline audiogram.  If the employee has previously experienced a recorded hearing loss, you must compare the employee's current audiogram with the employee's revised baseline audiogram (the audiogram reflecting the employee's previously recorded hearing loss case.)

(ii) The employee has a recordable threshold shift when:

• There is a change in the hearing threshold, relative to the baseline audiogram for that employee, of an average of 10 decibels (dB) or greater at 2000, 3000, and 4000 hertz (Hz) in one or both ears.

AND

• The employee's overall hearing loss (threshold) is 25 dB or greater (averaged at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz) in the same ear as the change.

Note:

Audiometric test results reflect the employee's overall hearing ability in comparison to audiometric zero.

(b) May I adjust the current audiogram to reflect the effects of aging on hearing? 

Yes. When you are determining whether an RTS has occurred, you may adjust the employee's current audiogram results by using Tables A-1 or A-2, as appropriate, in Appendix A of this chapter. You may not use an age adjustment when determining whether the employee's total hearing level is 25 dB or more above audiometric zero.

(c) Do I have to record the hearing loss if I am going to retest the employee's hearing? 

No, if you retest the employee's hearing within thirty days of the first test, and the retest does not confirm the RTS, you are not required to record the hearing loss case on the OSHA 300 Log. If the retest confirms the RTS, you must record the hearing loss illness within seven calendar days of the retest.  If subsequent audiometric testing indicates that an RTS is not persistent, you may erase or line-out the recorded entry.

(d) Are there any special rules for determining whether a hearing loss case is work-related? 

No.  You must use the rules in WAC 296-27-01103 to determine if the hearing loss is work-related.  If an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the hearing loss, or significantly aggravated a preexisting hearing loss, you must consider the case to be work-related.

(e) If a physician or other licensed health care professional determines the hearing loss is not work-related, do I still need to record the case? 

No.  If a physician or other licensed health care professional determines that the hearing loss is not work-related or has not been significantly aggravated by occupational noise exposure, you are not required to consider the case work-related or to record the case on the OSHA 300 Log.

(f) How do I complete the OSHA 300 Log for hearing loss? When you enter a recordable hearing loss case on the OSHA 300 Log, you must check the 300 Log column for hearing loss.

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WAC 296-27-01115 Recording criteria for work-related tuberculosis cases.

(1) Basic requirement. If any of your employees has been occupationally exposed to anyone with a known case of active tuberculosis (TB), and that employee subsequently develops a tuberculosis infection, as evidenced by a positive skin test or diagnosis by a physician or other licensed health care professional, you must record the case on the OSHA 300 Log by checking the "respiratory condition" column.

(2) Implementation.

(a) Do I have to record, on the Log, a positive TB skin test result obtained at a preemployment physical? No, you do not have to record it because the employee was not occupationally exposed to a known case of active tuberculosis in your workplace.

(b) May I line-out or erase a recorded TB case if I obtain evidence that the case was not caused by occupational exposure? Yes, you may line-out or erase the case from the Log under the following circumstances:

• The worker is living in a household with a person who has been diagnosed with active TB;
• The public health department has identified the worker as a contact of an individual with a case of active TB unrelated to the workplace; or
• A medical investigation shows that the employee's infection was caused by exposure to TB away from work, or proves that the case was not related to the workplace TB exposure.

WAC 296-27-01119 Forms.

(1) Basic requirement. You must use OSHA 300, 300-A, and 301 forms, or equivalent forms, for recordable injuries and illnesses. The OSHA 300 form is called the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, the 300-A is the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and the OSHA 301 form is called the Injury and Illness Incident Report.

(2) Implementation.

(a) What do I need to do to complete the OSHA 300 Log? You must enter information about your business at the top of the OSHA 300 Log, enter a one or two line description for each recordable injury or illness, and summarize this information on the OSHA 300-A at the end of the year.

(b) What do I need to do to complete the OSHA 301 Incident Report? You must complete an OSHA 301 Incident Report form, or an equivalent form, for each recordable injury or illness entered on the OSHA 300 Log.

(c) How quickly must each injury or illness be recorded? You must enter each recordable injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log and 301 Incident Report within seven calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness has occurred.

(d) What is an equivalent form? An equivalent form is one that has the same information, is as readable and understandable, and is completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form it replaces. Many employers use an insurance form instead of the OSHA 301 Incident Report, or supplement an insurance form by adding any additional information listed on the OSHA form.

(e) May I keep my records on a computer? Yes, if the computer can produce equivalent forms when they are needed, as described under WAC 296-27-02111 and 296-27-03103, you may keep your records using the computer system.

(f) Are there situations where I do not put the employee's name on the forms for privacy reasons? Yes, if you have a "privacy concern case," you may not enter the employee's name on the OSHA 300 Log. Instead, enter "privacy case" in the space normally used for the employee's name. This will protect the privacy of the injured or ill employee when another employee, a former employee, or an authorized employee representative is provided access to the OSHA 300 Log under WAC 296-27-02111. You must keep a separate, confidential list of the case numbers and employee names for your privacy concern cases so you can update the cases and provide the information to the government if asked to do so.

(g) How do I determine if an injury or illness is a privacy concern case? You must consider the following injuries or illnesses to be privacy concern cases:

• An injury or illness to an intimate body part or the reproductive system;
• An injury or illness resulting from a sexual assault;
• Mental illnesses;
• HIV infection, hepatitis, or tuberculosis;
• Needlestick injuries and cuts from sharp objects that are contaminated with another person's blood or other potentially infectious material (WAC 296-27-01109 for definitions); and
• Other illnesses if the employee independently and voluntarily requests that his or her name not be entered on the log.

(h) May I classify any other types of injuries and illnesses as privacy concern cases? No, this is a complete list of all injuries and illnesses considered privacy concern cases for the purposes of this section.

(i) If I have removed the employee's name, but still believe that the employee may be identified from the information on the forms, is there anything else that I can do to further protect the employee's privacy? Yes, if you have a reasonable basis to believe that information describing the privacy concern case may be personally identifiable even though the employee's name has been omitted, you may use discretion in describing the injury or illness on both the OSHA 300 and 301 forms. You must enter enough information to identify the cause of the incident and the general severity of the injury or illness, but you do not need to include details of an intimate or private nature. For example, a sexual assault case could be described as "injury from assault," or an injury to a reproductive organ could be described as "lower abdominal injury."

(j) What must I do to protect employee privacy if I wish to provide access to the OSHA Forms 300 and 301 to persons other than government representatives, employees, former employees or authorized representatives? If you decide to voluntarily disclose the forms to persons other than government representatives, employees, former employees or authorized representatives (as required by WAC 296-27-02111 and 296-27-03103), you must remove or hide the employees' names and other personally identifying information, except for the following cases. You may disclose the forms with personally identifying information only:

(i) To an auditor or consultant hired by the employer to evaluate the safety and health program;

(ii) To the extent necessary for processing a claim for workers' compensation or other insurance benefits; or

(iii) To a public health authority or law enforcement agency for uses and disclosures for which consent, an authorization, or opportunity to agree or object is not required under Department of Health and Human Services Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, 45 CFR 164.512.

(3) Falsification, failure to keep records or reports.

(a) RCW 49.17.190(2) of the act provides that "whoever knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained pursuant to this chapter shall, upon conviction be guilty of a gross misdemeanor and be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than six months or by both."

(b) Failure to maintain records or file reports required by this chapter, or in the detail required by the forms and instructions issued under this chapter, may result in the issuance of citations and assessment of penalties as provided for in chapter 296-900, Administrative rules.

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WAC 296-27-021 Other injury and illness recordkeeping requirements.

WAC 296-27-02101 Multiple business establishments.

(1) Basic requirement. You must keep a separate OSHA 300 Log for each establishment that is expected to be in operation for one year or longer.

(2) Implementation.

(a) Do I need to keep injury and illness records for short-term establishments (i.e., establishments that will exist for less than a year)? Yes, however, you do not have to keep a separate OSHA 300 Log for each such establishment. You may keep one OSHA 300 Log that covers all of your short-term establishments. You may also include the short-term establishments' recordable injuries and illnesses on an OSHA 300 Log that covers short-term establishments for individual company divisions or geographic regions.

(b) May I keep the records for all of my establishments at my headquarters location or at some other central location? Yes, you may keep the records for an establishment at your headquarters or other central location if you can:

• Transmit information about the injuries and illnesses from the establishment to the central location within seven calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness has occurred; and
• Produce and send the records from the central location to the establishment within the time frames required by WAC 296-27-02111 and 296-27-03103 when you are required to provide records to a government representative, employees, former employees or employee representatives.

(c) Some of my employees work at several different locations or do not work at any of my establishments at all. How do I record cases for these employees? You must link each of your employees with one of your establishments, for recordkeeping purposes. You must record the injury and illness on the OSHA 300 Log of the injured or ill employee's establishment, or on an OSHA 300 Log that covers that employee's short-term establishment.

(d) How do I record an injury or illness when an employee of one of my establishments is injured or becomes ill while visiting or working at another of my establishments, or while working away from any of my establishments? If the injury or illness occurs at one of your establishments, you must record the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log of the establishment at which the injury or illness occurred. If the employee is injured or becomes ill and is not at one of your establishments, you must record the case on the OSHA 300 Log at the establishment at which the employee normally works.

WAC 296-27-02103 Covered employees.

(1) Basic requirement. You must record on the OSHA 300 Log the recordable injuries and illnesses of all employees on your payroll, whether they are labor, executive, hourly, salary, part-time, seasonal, or migrant workers. You also must record the recordable injuries and illnesses that occur to employees who are not on your payroll if you supervise these employees on a day-to-day basis. If your business is organized as a sole proprietorship or partnership, the owner or partners are not considered employees for recordkeeping purposes.

(2) Implementation.

(a) If a self-employed person is injured or becomes ill while doing work at my business, do I need to record the injury or illness? No, self-employed individuals are not covered by the WISH Act or this standard.

(b) If I obtain employees from a temporary help service, employee leasing service, or personnel supply service, do I have to record an injury or illness occurring to one of those employees? You must record these injuries and illnesses if you supervise these employees on a day-to-day basis.

(c) If an employee in my establishment is a contractor's employee, must I record an injury or illness occurring to that employee? If the contractor's employee is under the day-to-day supervision of the contractor, the contractor is responsible for recording the injury or illness. If you supervise the contractor employee's work on a day-to-day basis, you must record the injury or illness.

(d) Must the personnel supply service, temporary help service, employee leasing service, or contractor also record the injuries or illnesses occurring to temporary, leased or contract employees that I supervise on a day-to-day basis? No, you and the temporary help service, employee leasing service, personnel supply service, or contractor should coordinate your efforts to make sure that each injury and illness is recorded only once: Either on your OSHA 300 Log (if you provide day-to-day supervision) or on the other employer's OSHA 300 Log (if that company provides day-to-day supervision).

WAC 296-27-02105 Annual summary.

(1) Basic requirement. At the end of each calendar year, you must:

• Review the OSHA 300 Log to verify that the entries are complete and accurate, and correct any deficiencies identified;
• Create an annual summary of injuries and illnesses recorded on the OSHA 300 Log;
• Certify the summary; and
• Post the annual summary.

(2) Implementation.

(a) How extensively do I have to review the OSHA 300 Log entries at the end of the year? You must review the entries as extensively as necessary to make sure that they are complete and correct.

(b) How do I complete the annual summary? You must:

• Total the columns on the OSHA 300 Log (if you had no recordable cases, enter zeros for each column total); and
• Enter the calendar year covered, the company's name, establishment name, establishment address, annual average number of employees covered by the OSHA 300 Log, and the total hours worked by all employees covered by the OSHA 300 Log.

If you are using an equivalent form other than the OSHA 300-A summary form, as permitted under WAC 296-27-01105, the summary you use must also include the employee access and employer penalty statements found on the OSHA 300-A summary form.

(c) How do I certify the annual summary? A company executive must certify that he or she has examined the OSHA 300 Log and that he or she reasonably believes, based on his or her knowledge of the process by which the information was recorded, that the annual summary is correct and complete.

(d) Who is considered a company executive? The company executive who certifies the log must be one of the following persons:

• An owner of the company (only if the company is a sole proprietorship or partnership);
• An officer of the corporation;
• The highest ranking company official working at the establishment; or
• The immediate supervisor of the highest ranking company official working at the establishment.

(e) How do I post the annual summary? You must post a copy of the annual summary in each establishment in a conspicuous place or places where notices to employees are customarily posted. You must ensure that the posted annual summary is not altered, defaced or covered by other material.

(f) When do I have to post the annual summary? You must post the summary no later than February 1 of the year following the year covered by the records and keep the posting in place until April 30.

WAC 296-27-02107 Retention and updating.

(1) Basic requirement. You must save the OSHA 300 Log, the privacy case list (if one exists), the annual summary, and the OSHA 301 Incident Report forms for five years following the end of the calendar year that these records cover.

(2) Implementation.

(a) Do I have to update the OSHA 300 Log during the five-year storage period? Yes, during the storage period, you must update your stored OSHA 300 Logs to include newly discovered recordable injuries or illnesses and to show any changes that have occurred in the classification of previously recorded injuries and illnesses. If the description or outcome of a case changes, you must remove or line-out the original entry and enter the new information.

(b) Do I have to update the annual summary? No, you are not required to update the annual summary, but you may do so if you wish.

(c) Do I have to update the OSHA 301 Incident Reports? No, you are not required to update the OSHA 301 Incident Reports, but you may do so if you wish.

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WAC 296-27-02109 Change in business ownership. 

If your business changes ownership, you are responsible for recording and reporting work-related injuries and illnesses only for that period of the year during which you owned the establishment. You must transfer these records to the new owner. The new owner must save all records of the establishment kept by the prior owner, as required by WAC 296-27-02107, but need not update or correct the records of the prior owner.

WAC 296-27-02111 Employee involvement.

(1) Basic requirement. Your employees and their representatives must be involved in the recordkeeping system in several ways.

(a) You must inform each employee of how he or she is to report an injury or illness to you.

(b) You must provide limited access to your injury and illness records for your employees and their representatives.

(2) Implementation.

(a) What must I do to make sure that employees report work-related injuries and illnesses to me?

You must set up a way for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses promptly; and

You must tell each employee how to report work-related injuries and illnesses to you.

(b) Do I have to give my employees and their representatives access to the OSHA injury and illness records? Yes, your employees, former employees, their personal representatives, and their authorized employee representatives have the right to access the OSHA injury and illness records, with some limitations, as discussed below.

Who is an authorized employee representative? An authorized employee representative is an authorized collective bargaining agent of employees.

Who is a "personal representative" of an employee or former employee? A personal representative is:

• Any person that the employee or former employee designates as such, in writing; or
• The legal representative of a deceased or legally incapacitated employee or former employee.

If an employee or representative asks for access to the OSHA 300 Log, when do I have to provide it?

When an employee, former employee, personal representative, or authorized employee representative asks for copies of your current or stored OSHA 300 Log(s) for an establishment the employee or former employee has worked in, you must give the requester a copy of the relevant OSHA 300 Log(s) by the end of the next business day.

May I remove the names of the employees or any other information from the OSHA 300 Log before I give copies to an employee, former employee, or employee representative? No, you must leave the names on the OSHA 300 Log. However, to protect the privacy of injured and ill employees, you may not record the employee's name on the OSHA 300 Log for certain "privacy concern cases," as specified in WAC 296-27-01119 (2)(f) through (i).

If an employee or representative asks for access to the OSHA 301 Incident Report, when do I have to provide it?

When an employee, former employee, or personal representative asks for a copy of the OSHA 301 Incident Report describing an injury or illness to that employee or former employee, you must give the requester a copy of the OSHA 301 Incident Report containing that information by the end of the next business day.

When an authorized employee representative asks for copies of the OSHA 301 Incident Reports for an establishment where the agent represents employees under a collective bargaining agreement, you must give copies of those forms to the authorized employee representative within seven calendar days. You are only required to give the authorized employee representative information from the OSHA 301 Incident Report section titled "Tell us about the case." You must remove all other information from the copy of the OSHA 301 Incident Report or the equivalent substitute form that you give to the authorized employee representative.

May I charge for the copies? No, you may not charge for these copies the first time they are provided. However, if one of the designated persons asks for additional copies, you may assess a reasonable charge for retrieving and copying the records.

WAC 296-27-02113 Prohibition against discrimination. 

Employers are prohibited from discriminating against an employee for reporting a work-related fatality, injury or illness. Employees are also protected when they file a safety and health complaint, or ask for records which are required to be maintained by this section or exercise rights extended by the WISH Act.

(1) WISHA may not issue a variance to a private sector employer and must recognize all variances issued by Federal OSHA.

(2) WISHA may only grant an injury and illness recording and reporting variance to a state or local government employer within the state after obtaining approval to grant the variance from Federal OSHA.

WAC 296-27-02117 Variances from the recordkeeping rule.

(1) Basic requirement. If you wish to keep records in a different manner from that prescribed in this section, you may submit a variance petition to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210. You can obtain a variance only if you can show that your alternative recordkeeping system:

• Collects the same information as this section requires;
• Meets the purposes of the act; and
• Does not interfere with the administration of the act.

(2) Implementation.

(a) What do I need to include in my variance petition? You must include the following items in your petition:

• Your name and address;
• A list of the state(s) where the variance would be used;
• The address(es) of the business establishment(s) involved;
• A description of why you are seeking a variance;
• A description of the different recordkeeping procedures you propose to use;
• A description of how your proposed procedures will collect the same information as would be collected by this section and achieve the purpose of the act; and
• A statement that you have informed your employees of the petition by giving them or their authorized representative a copy of the petition and by posting a statement summarizing the petition in the same way as notices are posted under 29 CFR 1903.2(a).

(b) How will the Assistant Secretary handle my variance petition? The Assistant Secretary will take the following steps to process your variance petition.

The Assistant Secretary will offer your employees and their authorized representatives an opportunity to submit written data, views, and arguments about your variance petition.

The Assistant Secretary may allow the public to comment on your variance petition by publishing the petition in the Federal Register. If the petition is published, the notice will establish a public comment period and may include a schedule for a public meeting on the petition.

After reviewing your variance petition and any comments from your employees and the public, the Assistant Secretary will decide whether or not your proposed recordkeeping procedures will meet the purposes of the act, will not otherwise interfere with the act, and will provide the same information as required by this section. If your procedures meet these criteria, the Assistant Secretary may grant the variance subject to such conditions as he or she finds appropriate.

If the Assistant Secretary grants your variance petition, OSHA will publish a notice in the Federal Register to announce the variance. The notice will include the practices the variance allows you to use, any conditions that apply, and the reasons for allowing the variance.

(c) If I apply for a variance, may I use my proposed recordkeeping procedures while the Assistant Secretary is processing the variance petition? No, alternative recordkeeping practices are only allowed after the variance is approved. You must comply with this section's requirements while the Assistant Secretary is reviewing your variance petition.

(d) If I have already been cited for not following the requirements of this section, will my variance petition have any effect on the citation and penalty? No, in addition, the Assistant Secretary may elect not to review your variance petition if it includes an element for which you have been cited and the citation is still under review by a court, an administrative law judge (ALJ), or the OSH review commission.

(e) If I receive a variance, may it be revoked at a later date? Yes, a variance may be revoked for good cause. The variance revocation procedures are the same as those followed to request the exception. In cases of willfulness or where necessary for public safety, the Assistant Secretary will:

• Notify you in writing of the facts or conduct that may warrant revocation of your variance; and
• Provide you, your employees, and authorized employee representatives with an opportunity to participate in the revocation procedures.

(f) The department of labor and industries must recognize any variance issued by federal OSHA.

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WAC 296-27-031 Reporting fatality, injury, and illness information.

(1) Basic requirement. You must report fatalities, injuries and illnesses information as required by WAC 296-800-32005.

(2) Implementation.

(a) If the local L&I office is closed, how do I report the incident? If the local office is closed, you must report a fatality or in-patient hospitalization incident by calling either the department at 1-800-4BE-SAFE (1-800-423-7233) or by contacting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by calling its central number at 1-800-321-6742.

(b) What information do I need to give about the incident? You must give the following information for each fatality or in-patient hospitalization incident:

• Name of the work place;
• Location of the incident;
• Time and date of the incident;
• Number of fatalities or hospitalized employees;
• Names of injured employees;
• Contact person and phone number; and
• Brief description of the incident.

WAC 296-27-03101 Providing records to government representatives.

(1) Basic requirement. When an authorized government representative asks for the records you keep under this section, you must provide copies of the records within four business hours.

(2) Implementation.

(a) What government representatives have the right to get copies of records required by this section? The government representatives authorized to receive the records are:

• A representative of the Secretary of Labor conducting an inspection or investigation under the act;
• A representative of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-NIOSH) conducting an investigation under section 20(b) of the act; or
• A representative of the state department of labor and industries.

(b) Do I have to produce the records within four hours if my records are kept at a location in a different time zone? Your response will be considered timely if you give the records to the government representative within four business hours of the request. If you maintain the records at a location in a different time zone, you may use the business hours of the establishment at which the records are located when calculating the deadline.

WAC 296-27-03103 Annual OSHA injury and illness survey.

(1) Basic requirement. If you receive OSHA's annual survey form, you must fill it out and send it to OSHA or OSHA's designee, as stated on the survey form. You must report the following information for the year described on the form:

• The number of workers you employed;
• The number of hours worked by your employees; and
• The requested information from the records that you keep under this section.

(2) Implementation.

(a) Does every employer have to send data to OSHA? No, each year, OSHA sends injury and illness survey forms to employers in certain industries. In any year, some employers will receive an OSHA survey form and others will not. You do not have to send injury and illness data to OSHA unless you receive a survey form.

(b) How quickly do I need to respond to an OSHA survey form? You must send the survey reports to OSHA, or OSHA's designee, by mail or other means described in the survey form, within thirty calendar days, or by the date stated in the survey form, whichever is later.

(c) Do I have to respond to an OSHA survey form if I am normally exempt from keeping OSHA injury and illness records? Yes, even if you are exempt from keeping injury and illness records under WAC 296-27-001, OSHA may inform you in writing that it will be collecting injury and illness information from you in the following year. If you receive such a letter, you must keep the injury and illness records required by WAC 296-27-01103 to 296-27-01117 and make a survey report for the year covered by the survey.

(d) Do employers in Washington have to answer the OSHA survey form? Yes.

(e) Does this section affect WISHA/OSHA's authority to inspect my workplace? No, nothing in this section affects WISHA/OSHA's statutory authority to investigate conditions related to occupational safety and health.

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WAC 296-27-03105 Requests from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for data.

(1) Basic requirement. If you receive a Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses form from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), or a BLS designee, you must promptly complete the form and return it following the instructions contained on the survey form.

(2) Implementation.

(a) Does every employer have to send data to the BLS? No, each year, the BLS sends injury and illness survey forms to randomly selected employers and uses the information to create the nation's occupational injury and illness statistics. In any year, some employers will receive a BLS survey form and others will not. You do not have to send injury and illness data to the BLS unless you receive a survey form.

(b) If I get a survey form from the BLS, what do I have to do? If you receive a Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses form from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), or a BLS designee, you must promptly complete the form and return it, following the instructions contained on the survey form.

(c) Do I have to respond to a BLS survey form if I am normally exempt from keeping OSHA injury and illness records? Yes, even if you are exempt from keeping injury and illness records under WAC 296-27-00103 through 296-27-00107, the BLS may inform you in writing that it will be collecting injury and illness information from you in the coming year. If you receive such a letter, you must keep the injury and illness records required by WAC 296-27-01103 to 296-27-01117 and make a survey report for the year covered by the survey.

(d) Do I have to answer the BLS survey form if I am located in a state-plan state? Yes, all employers who receive a survey form must respond to the survey, even those in state-plan states.

WAC 296-27-041 Transition from the former rule.

WAC 296-27-04101 Summary and posting of the 2001 data.

(1) Basic requirement. If you were required to keep OSHA 200 Logs in 2001, you must post a 2001 annual summary from the OSHA 200 Log of occupational injuries and illnesses for each establishment.

(2) Implementation.

(a) What do I have to include in the summary?

(i) You must include a copy of the totals from the 2001 OSHA 200 Log and the following information from that form:

• The calendar year covered;
• Your company name;
• The name and address of the establishment; and
• The certification signature, title and date.

(ii) If no injuries or illnesses occurred at your establishment in 2001, you must enter zeros on the totals line and post the 2001 summary.

(b) When am I required to summarize and post the 2001 information?

• You must complete the summary by February 1, 2002; and
• You must post a copy of the summary in each establishment in a conspicuous place or places where notices to employees are customarily posted. You must ensure that the summary is not altered, defaced or covered by other material.

(c) How long must I post the 2001 summary? You must post the 2001 summary from February 1, 2002 to March 1, 2002.

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WAC 296-27-04103 Retention and updating of old forms. 

You must save your copies of the OSHA 200 and 101 forms for five years following the year to which they relate and continue to provide access to the data as though these forms were the OSHA 300 and 301 forms. You are not required to update your old 200 and 101 forms.

WAC 296-27-051 Definitions.

WAC 296-27-05101 Definitions.

Employer means a person, firm, corporation, partnership, business trust, legal representative, or other business entity which engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this state and employs one or more employees or who contracts with one or more persons, the essence of which is the personal labor of such person or persons and includes the state, counties, cities, and all municipal corporations, public corporations, political subdivisions of the state, and charitable organizations: Provided, That any persons, partnership, or business entity not having employees, and who is covered by the Industrial Insurance Act must be considered both an employer and employee.

Establishment means a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. For activities where employees do not work at a single physical location, such as construction; transportation; communications, electric, gas and sanitary services; and similar operations, the establishment is represented by main or branch offices, terminals, stations, etc., that either supervise such activities or are the base from which personnel carry out these activities.

(1) Can one business location include two or more establishments? Normally, one business location has only one establishment. Under limited conditions, the employer may consider two or more separate businesses that share a single location to be separate establishments. An employer may divide one location into two or more establishments only when:

• Each of the establishments represents a distinctly separate business;
• Each business is engaged in a different economic activity;
• No one industry description in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual (1987) applies to the joint activities of the establishments; and
• Separate reports are routinely prepared for each establishment on the number of employees, their wages and salaries, sales or receipts, and other business information. For example, if an employer operates a construction company at the same location as a lumber yard, the employer may consider each business to be a separate establishment.

(2) Can an establishment include more than one physical location? Yes, but only under certain conditions. An employer may combine two or more physical locations into a single establishment only when:

• The employer operates the locations as a single business operation under common management;
• The locations are all located in close proximity to each other; and
• The employer keeps one set of business records for the locations, such as records on the number of employees, their wages and salaries, sales or receipts, and other kinds of business information. For example, one manufacturing establishment might include the main plant, a warehouse a few blocks away, and an administrative services building across the street.

(3) If an employee telecommutes from home, is his or her home considered a separate establishment? No, for employees who telecommute from home, the employee's home is not a business establishment and a separate OSHA 300 Log is not required. Employees who telecommute must be linked to one of your establishments under WAC 296-27-02101 (2)(c).

Injury or illness means an abnormal condition or disorder. Injuries include cases such as, but not limited to, a cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation. Illnesses include both acute and chronic illnesses, such as, but not limited to, a skin disease, respiratory disorder, or poisoning.

Note: Injuries and illnesses are recordable only if they are new, work-related cases that meet one or more of this section's recording criteria.

"OSHA" means Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Physician or other licensed health care professional means a physician or other licensed health care professional whose legally permitted scope of practice (i.e., license, registration, or certification) allows him or her to independently perform, or be delegated the responsibility to perform, the activities described by this regulation.

You means an employer.

 Table "1" - Private Employer Exemptions

SIC	Industry description code
525	Hardware Stores
542	Meat and Fish Markets
544	Candy, Nut, and Confectionary Stores
545	Dairy Products Stores
546	Retail Bakeries
549	Miscellaneous Food Stores
551	New and Used Car Dealers
552	Used Car Dealers
554	Gasoline Service Stations
557	Motorcycle Dealers
56	Apparel and Accessory Stores
573	Radio, Television, & Computer Stores
58	Eating and Drinking Places
591	Drug Stores and Proprietary Stores
592	Liquor Stores
594	Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores
599	Retail Stores, Not Elsewhere Classified
60	Depository Institutions (banks & savings institutions)
61	Nondepository
62	Security and Commodity Brokers
63	Insurance Carriers
64	Insurance Agents, Brokers & Services
653	Real Estate Agents and Managers
654	Title Abstract Offices
67	Holding and Other Investment Offices
722	Photographic Studios, Portrait
723	Beauty Shops
724	Barber Shops
725	Shoe Repair and Shoeshine Parlors
726	Funeral Service and Crematories
729	Miscellaneous Personal Services
731	Advertising Services
732	Credit Reporting and Collection Services
733	Mailing, Reproduction, & Stenographic Services
737	Computer and Data Processing Services
738	Miscellaneous Business Services
764	Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
78	Motion Picture
791	Dance Studios, Schools, and Halls
792	Producers, Orchestras, Entertainers
793	Bowling Centers
81	Legal Services
82	Educational Services (schools, colleges, universities and libraries)
832	Individual and Family Services
835	Child Day Care Services
839	Social Services, Not Elsewhere Classified
841	Museums and Art Galleries
86	Membership Organizations
87	Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management and Related Services
899	Services, not elsewhere classified

Table "2" - Public Employer Exemptions

SIC Industry description code
821	Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
823	Public Libraries

 

WAC 296-27-061 Non-Mandatory Appendix A--Age adjustment calculations for comparing audiograms for recording hearing loss.

IMPORTANT:

These computations may only be used for comparison of audiograms to record hearing loss on the OSHA 300 log. This Appendix is Non-Mandatory.

In determining whether a recordable threshold shift has occurred, allowance may be made for the contribution of aging to the change in hearing level by adjusting the most recent audiogram. If you choose to adjust the audiogram, you must follow the procedure described below. This procedure and the age correction tables were developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the criteria document entitled “Criteria for a Recommended Standard . . . Occupational Exposure to Noise,” ((HSM) - 11001).

For each audiometric test frequency:

(i) Determine from Tables A-1 or A-2 the age correction values for the employee by:

(A) Finding the age at which the most recent audiogram was taken and recording the corresponding values of age corrections at 1000 Hz through 6000 Hz.

(B) Finding the age at which the baseline audiogram was taken and recording the corresponding values of age corrections at 1000 Hz through 6000 Hz.

(ii) Subtract the values found in step (i)(B) from the value found in step (i)(A).

(iii) The differences calculated in step (ii) represent that portion of the change in hearing that may be due to aging.

EXAMPLE:

Employee is a 32-year-old male. The audiometric history for his right ear is shown in decibels below.

Audiometric Test Frequency (Hz)

The audiogram at age 27 is considered the baseline since it shows the best hearing threshold levels. Asterisks have been used to identify the baseline and most recent audiogram. A threshold shift of 20 dB exists at 4000 Hz between the audiograms taken at age 27 and 32.
(The threshold shift is computed by subtracting the hearing threshold at age 27, which was 5, from the hearing threshold at age 32, which is 25.) A retest audiogram has confirmed this shift. The contribution of aging to this change in hearing may be estimated in the following manner:
Go to Table A-1 and find the age correction values (in dB) for 4000 Hz at age 27 and age 32.

The difference represents the amount of hearing loss that may be attributed to aging in the time period between the baseline audiogram and the most recent audiogram. In this example, the difference at 4000 Hz is 3 dB. This value is subtracted from the hearing level at 4000 Hz, which in the most recent audiogram is 25, yielding 22 after adjustment. Then the hearing threshold in the baseline audiogram at 4000 Hz (5) is subtracted from the adjusted annual audiogram hearing threshold at 4000 Hz (22). Thus the age-corrected threshold shift would be 17 dB (as opposed to a threshold shift of 20 dB without age correction).

TABLE A-1 - AGE CORRECTION VALUES IN DECIBELS FOR MALES

	Audiometric Test Frequency (Hz)
Years
	1000	2000	3000	4000	6000
20 or younger . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .	5	3	4	5	8
21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . .	5	3	4	5	8
22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	5	3	4	5	8
23 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . .. . . . .	5	3	4	6	9
24 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . .. . . . . . .	5	3	5	6	9
25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .	5	3	5	7	10
26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	5	4	5	7	10
27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .	5	4	6	7	11
28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .	6	4	6	8	11
29 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .	6	4	6	8	12
30 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .	6	4	6	9	12
31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6	4	7	9	13
32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6	5	7	10	14
33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6	5	7	10	14
34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6	5	8	11	15
35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	5	8	11	15
36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	5	9	12	16
37 . . . . . . . . . . . .   . . . . . . . . . .	7	6	9	12	17
38 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .	7	6	9	13	17
39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	6	10	14	18
40 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .	7	6	10	14	19
41 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .	7	6	10	14	20
42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	7	11	16	20
43 . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	7	12	16	21
44 . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	7	12	17	22
45 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	7	13	18	23
46 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	8	13	19	24
47 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	8	14	19	24
48 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	8	14	20	25
49 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	9	15	21	26
50 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	9	16	22	27
51 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	9	16	23	28
52 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	10	17	24	29
53 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	10	18	25	30
54 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	10	18	26	31
55 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	11	19	27	32
56 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	11	20	28	34
57 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	11	21	29	35
58 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	12	22	31	36
59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11	12	22	32	37
60 or older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11	13	23	33	38
TABLE A-2 - AGE CORRECTION VALUES IN DECIBELS FOR FEMALES
	Audiometric Test Frequency (Hz)
Years
	1000	2000	3000	4000	6000
20 or younger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	4	3	3	6
21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	4	4	3	6
22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	4	4	4	6
23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	5	4	4	7
24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7	5	4	4	7
25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	5	4	4	7
26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	5	5	4	8
27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	5	5	5	8
28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	5	5	5	8
29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	5	5	5	9
30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	6	5	5	9
31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8	6	6	5	9
32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	6	6	6	10
33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	6	6	6	10
34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	6	6	6	10
35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	6	7	7	11
36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	7	7	7	11
37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9	7	7	7	12
38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	7	7	7	12
39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	7	8	8	12
40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	7	8	8	13
41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	8	8	8	13
42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	8	9	9	13
43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11	8	9	9	14
44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11	8	9	9	14
45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11	8	10	10	15
46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11	9	10	10	15
47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11	9	10	11	16
48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12	9	11	11	16
49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12	9	11	11	16
50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12	10	11	12	17
51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12	10	12	12	17
52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12	10	12	13	18
53 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	13	10	13	13	18
54 . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .	13	11	13	14	19
55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	13	11	14	14	19
56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	13	11	14	15	20
57 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	13	11	15	15	20
58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14	12	15	16	21
59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14	12	16	16	21
60 or older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14	12	16	17	22