[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1904.7]

[Page 49-53]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                                OF LABOR
 
Part 1904_Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
--Table of Contents
 
          Subpart C_Recordkeeping Forms and Recording Criteria
 
Sec. 1904.7  General recording criteria.

    (a) 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.
    (b) Implementation. (1) 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 Sec. 1904.7(b)(2).
    (ii) Days away from work. See Sec. 1904.7(b)(3).
    (iii) Restricted work or transfer to another job. See Sec. 
1904.7(b)(4).
    (iv) Medical treatment beyond first aid. See Sec. 1904.7(b)(5).
    (v) Loss of consciousness. See Sec. 1904.7(b)(6).
    (vi) A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or 
other licensed health care professional. See Sec. 1904.7(b)(7).
    (2) 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 OSHA within eight (8) hours, as required by Sec. 1904.39.
    (3) 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

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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 180 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 180 calendar 
days away from work and/or days of job transfer or restriction. In such 
a case, entering 180 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 180-day cap.
    (4) 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:
    (A) 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
    (B) 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

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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 OSHA's 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

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transfer or restriction in the same way you count days away from work, 
using Sec. 1904.7(b)(3)(i) to (viii), above. 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.
    (5) 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 Part 1904, medical treatment does not 
include:
    (A) Visits to a physician or other licensed health care professional 
solely for observation or counseling;
    (B) 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
    (C) ``First aid'' as defined in paragraph (b)(5)(ii) of this 
section.
    (ii) What is ``first aid''? For the purposes of Part 1904, ``first 
aid'' means the following:
    (A) Using a non-prescription medication at nonprescription strength 
(for medications available in both prescription and non-prescription 
form, a recommendation by a physician or other licensed health care 
professional to use a non-prescription medication at prescription 
strength is considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes);
    (B) Administering tetanus immunizations (other immunizations, such 
as Hepatitis B vaccine or rabies vaccine, are considered medical 
treatment);
    (C) Cleaning, flushing or soaking wounds on the surface of the skin;
    (D) Using wound coverings such as bandages, Band-AidsTM, 
gauze pads, etc.; or using butterfly bandages or Steri-
StripsTM (other wound closing devices such as sutures, 
staples, etc., are considered medical treatment);
    (E) Using hot or cold therapy;
    (F) Using any non-rigid means of support, such as elastic bandages, 
wraps, non-rigid back belts, etc. (devices with rigid stays or other 
systems designed to immobilize parts of the body are considered medical 
treatment for recordkeeping purposes);
    (G) Using temporary immobilization devices while transporting an 
accident victim (e.g., splints, slings, neck collars, back boards, 
etc.).
    (H) Drilling of a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure, or 
draining fluid from a blister;
    (I) Using eye patches;
    (J) Removing foreign bodies from the eye using only irrigation or a 
cotton swab;
    (K) Removing splinters or foreign material from areas other than the 
eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs or other simple means;
    (L) Using finger guards;
    (M) Using massages (physical therapy or chiropractic treatment are 
considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes); or
    (N) 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 Part 1904 
purposes.
    (iv) Does the professional status of the person providing the 
treatment have any effect on what is considered first aid or medical 
treatment? No, OSHA considers the treatments listed in Sec. 
1904.7(b)(5)(ii) of this Part 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

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aid for the purposes of Part 1904. Similarly, OSHA considers treatment 
beyond first aid 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.
    (6) 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.
    (7) 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 to Sec. 1904.7: OSHA believes that most significant injuries 
and illnesses will result in one of the criteria listed in Sec. 
1904.7(a): 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. OSHA believes that 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.