Last updated 2026-07-09
TL;DR
OSHA requires employers to report any work-related fatality within 8 hours and any in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss within 24 hours. Separately, most employers with 10 or more workers must keep OSHA 300 injury logs and submit annual electronic summaries. As of 2024, missing a required report can cost up to $16,131 per violation.
What is OSHA reporting, and who does it apply to?
OSHA reporting is two different things people constantly mix up. One is mandatory incident reporting: calling OSHA after a serious event. The other is recordkeeping: keeping injury logs and filing annual electronic data. Different rules, different clocks, different penalties. You need both straight.
The reporting rules under 29 CFR 1904.39 cover nearly every employer in OSHA's jurisdiction, no matter the size. Have two employees? If one dies on the job or lands in the hospital, you have to call. The recordkeeping rules under 29 CFR 1904 reach further but carry a partial exemption for employers with 10 or fewer employees and for certain low-hazard industries listed in Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 1904. [1]
State-plan states cover roughly half the U.S. workforce. They run their own programs but must keep standards at least as effective as federal OSHA. The rules below apply federally. Check your state plan if you operate in California (Cal/OSHA), Washington (L&I), Michigan (MIOSHA), or another of the 26 state-plan states. [2]
Still sorting out what OSHA is and what it covers? The OSHA overview on this site is where to start.
What workplace events require an immediate report to OSHA?
Three kinds of events trigger a mandatory report under 29 CFR 1904.39. A work-related fatality gives you 8 hours from the time you learn of the death. An in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees gives you 24 hours. An amputation or the loss of an eye also gives you 24 hours.
The clocks start when the employer first learns of the incident, not when it happened. A worker collapses at 10 p.m. and you find out at 7 a.m. the next morning? The clock starts at 7 a.m. [3]
A few things trip people up. "In-patient hospitalization" means the employee was formally admitted, more than evaluated in an emergency room and sent home. ER-only visits don't trigger the 24-hour rule, even when they're serious. An amputation is the traumatic loss of any body part, including a fingertip, but internal amputations like a ruptured spleen aren't covered. [3]
The fatality has to be work-related to require reporting. If an employee has a heart attack on the job with no connection to work conditions, you may not have to report it. OSHA's work-relatedness test under 29 CFR 1904.5 applies: the event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the injury or illness, or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition. [1]
Motor vehicle fatalities on a public road are reportable only if they happened in a work zone. Heart attacks you report, and OSHA decides work-relatedness. When in doubt, report. The penalty for missing a required report is steeper than the inconvenience of a call you didn't strictly need to make.
How do you actually file an OSHA report?
You have three ways to file under 29 CFR 1904.39(b)(1). Call the OSHA 24-hour hotline at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742). Call your nearest OSHA area office during business hours. Or file online at osha.gov/report. [3]
The online form is the practical choice for hospitalizations and amputations, since you usually aren't under a 2-hour crunch. For fatalities, call. The online form can go down, and a technical glitch is a lousy excuse for a late report.
Have this ready before you file: the employer's name and address, the affected employee's name, the incident location, the time it occurred, the type of event (fatality, hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss), a short description of what happened, and a contact name and phone number. Reporting does not automatically trigger an inspection. Serious events often lead to one anyway.
After you file, write down the date, time, method, and the name of the OSHA representative you spoke with if you called. Keep that record. If OSHA later claims you reported late, that note is your defense.
What records do employers have to keep under the OSHA 300 log rules?
The recordkeeping standard at 29 CFR 1904 requires covered employers to keep three forms for every calendar year. Form 300 is the injury and illness log, where you record each qualifying work-related incident. Form 300A is the annual summary, which you post in the workplace from February 1 through April 30. Form 301 is the incident report (or an equivalent), completed for each recorded case within 7 calendar days of learning about it. [1]
You record a work-related injury or illness if it results in any of these: death, days away from work, restricted work activity, transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a diagnosis of a significant injury or illness by a healthcare professional. [1]
"First aid" has a specific definition at 29 CFR 1904.7(a). It covers over-the-counter medications at nonprescription strength, wound closures with bandages or butterfly strips (but not sutures), and non-rigid support like elastic bandages. Once a physician prescribes something, even something minor, the case usually crosses into recordable territory.
Keep these records for 5 years. OSHA can ask to see them. So can employees and their representatives. Workers have the right to access their own 301 forms and the 300 log under 29 CFR 1904.35. [1]
Building the written safety program that sits underneath your recordkeeping process? The SafetyFolio program generator can produce a compliant recordkeeping policy in about 15 minutes, which helps if you're starting cold.
Who is exempt from OSHA recordkeeping requirements?
Two groups get a partial exemption from routine recordkeeping. Neither escapes the 8-hour and 24-hour incident reporting rules.
Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year don't have to keep the 300 log or 300A summary. They still must report fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and eye losses. [1]
Employers in certain low-hazard industries are also exempt, even above 10 employees. OSHA lists these in Appendix A to Subpart B of 29 CFR 1904. Examples include many retail, finance, insurance, and real estate establishments. The classification runs off your primary NAICS code. [1]
Here's the catch: partial exemption doesn't mean zero records. If OSHA asks you to keep records as part of a data collection effort, you comply. The Bureau of Labor Statistics runs an annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses that randomly picks establishments, exempt ones included. Get the letter, and you participate. [4]
Some state plans set stricter thresholds. Cal/OSHA, for one, applies recordkeeping to all employers regardless of size in some industries. In a state-plan state, verify local rules before you assume the federal exemption covers you.
What is the OSHA 300A electronic submission requirement?
Under the Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses rule, OSHA requires certain employers to submit injury and illness data electronically through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) at injurytracking.osha.gov. The deadline is March 2 of the year after the calendar year covered. Data for 2024 was due March 2, 2025. [5]
Here's who submits and what they send:
| Establishment size | Industry type | What to submit |
|---|---|---|
| 250+ employees | Any industry subject to recordkeeping | 300, 300A, and 301 data |
| 20-249 employees | High-hazard industries (NAICS listed in 29 CFR 1904.41) | 300A summary data only |
| Any size | If OSHA notified you in writing | As specified |
The 2023 final rule (effective January 1, 2024) expanded the requirement for larger establishments to include 300 log and 301 incident data, more than the 300A summary. OSHA says it will use this data to find hazardous workplaces on its own, which means your numbers can trigger an inspection with no complaint and no reported incident behind it. [5]
If your headcount swings during the year, OSHA uses your peak employment to decide whether you cross the 250-employee threshold. Hit 250 at any point and you're in.
What are the penalties for failing to report or file OSHA records?
OSHA adjusts penalty amounts every year for inflation. As of 2024, a serious violation (which includes failing to report a required incident or keep required records) tops out at $16,131 per violation. Willful or repeated violations reach $161,323 per violation. [6]
Failing to report a fatality or catastrophe on time is usually cited as other-than-serious or serious, depending on how OSHA classifies it and your history. Missing the 8-hour or 24-hour window by even a few hours is enough to draw a citation. OSHA has cited employers who reported on day two instead of day one.
False or incomplete records get treated harder. Knowingly filing false records can trigger a criminal referral under OSH Act Section 17(g), which carries penalties up to $10,000 and up to 6 months in prison. Nobody wants that conversation. [7]
Failing to post the 300A summary from February 1 through April 30 is its own citable offense. It sounds minor. Inspectors check it during walkthroughs, and it's an easy write-up if you forgot.
How do you determine if an injury or illness is work-related?
Work-relatedness is defined at 29 CFR 1904.5: an injury or illness is work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the condition, or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition. The work environment covers any location where employees are working, including parking lots, company vehicles, and client sites. [1]
A handful of exceptions carve things out. Injuries that happen in the work environment but aren't work-related include: the person was there as a member of the general public (a customer who also happens to work for you), symptoms coming entirely from a non-work event outside work, voluntary participation in a wellness program or recreation, personal grooming or self-medication, mental illness unless the employee voluntarily provides a professional opinion tying it to work, and common colds or flu. [1]
The work-from-home question is genuinely tricky. OSHA's position, laid out in its recordkeeping FAQs on osha.gov, is that home injuries are work-related if they happen while the employee is doing work tasks. A remote worker who trips heading to the bathroom? Probably not recordable. One who's carrying a work laptop and falls? Maybe. Nobody has clean data on where enforcement lands at the edges. OSHA's 2002 letter of interpretation on home-based workers is still the primary guidance, and it stresses that OSHA generally won't inspect home offices. [8]
When you're honestly unsure, document your reasoning. Write down why you decided something was or wasn't work-related. If you get questioned later, showing your work beats having no record of it at all.
What is a first aid case, and why does it matter for recordkeeping?
First aid cases are the ones you don't record, and getting it wrong in either direction costs you. Record too many and your incident rate climbs, which can push up insurance premiums and flag you as a high-hazard establishment in OSHA's data. Record too few and you risk citations for inadequate records.
OSHA's definition at 29 CFR 1904.7(a) lists 15 specific treatments that count as first aid. The full list is on osha.gov. The ones that come up most: nonprescription medication at nonprescription strength, tetanus immunizations, cleaning wounds, butterfly bandage closures, draining blisters, removing splinters, non-rigid support like elastic bandages, and physical therapy used as a diagnostic measure. [1]
Go past that list in any way and it's medical treatment, and the case is recordable. Prescription medication, even for something you'd normally grab off a drugstore shelf, makes it recordable. Sutures make it recordable. X-rays to diagnose (rather than rule out) a fracture may or may not, depending on the diagnosis.
The 7-day rule matters here too. You have 7 calendar days from learning of a work-related injury or illness to decide if it's recordable and log it. Waiting on a medical diagnosis is fair reason for a short delay. Document it.
How does OSHA reporting work for multi-site employers?
Run operations at several locations and each physical establishment keeps its own 300 log. Under OSHA's definition, an "establishment" is a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. [1]
For incident reporting (fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, eye losses), you report based on where the incident happened, not where the company is headquartered. If your employee is working at a client's site and gets hurt there, the incident goes to the establishment that sent them, and that's who reports it.
Temporary workers are where employers slip. Under OSHA's multi-employer citation policy and its recordkeeping guidance, the employer who supervises the day-to-day work of a temporary worker is generally the one who records that worker's injuries. Staffing agencies and host employers should put a written agreement in place naming who keeps the records. No agreement, and the host employer who controls working conditions is usually on the hook. [9]
For electronic submission, each establishment with 250 or more employees files its own data through the ITA. You can't roll several smaller sites into one submission to dodge the 250-employee threshold.
What happens after you file an OSHA report?
After you report a fatality, hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss, OSHA decides whether to open a formal inspection. They usually run through questions over the phone first. What happened, what work was being done, what equipment was involved, and what corrective action you took right away.
For fatalities, an inspection is almost certain. An area director can authorize a rapid response investigation, which may be lighter than a programmed inspection, but expect someone from OSHA on site. Secure the area and don't alter anything until you've documented it with photos, measurements, and written descriptions.
OSHA has 6 months from learning of an incident to issue a citation. If they inspect and find violations, they send a citation and notification of penalty. You then have 15 working days to contest by filing a notice of contest with the OSHA area director. Miss those 15 working days and the citation becomes final and the penalty is due. [7]
For electronic recordkeeping submissions, OSHA uses the data to prioritize programmed inspections. Establishments with high Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rates relative to their industry average are more likely to get picked. This is a real and underappreciated consequence of submitting your 300A data. Know your DART rate and know your industry average. BLS publishes industry-level injury rates each year through the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. [4]
How does OSHA reporting connect to your overall safety program?
Reporting and recordkeeping are lagging indicators. They tell you what already went wrong. The point of a written safety program is to stop the events that would force a report in the first place.
That said, your 300 log is one of the best pattern-finders you have. Same injury type repeating across quarters? That's a hazard you haven't controlled. OSHA's guidance on injury and illness prevention programs recommends feeding recordkeeping data into your hazard identification process. [10]
There's an anti-retaliation piece to the recordkeeping rules that's easy to miss. Under 29 CFR 1904.35(b), employers can't discourage workers from reporting injuries and illnesses. Policies that punish employees for reporting, or that reward injury-free stretches in ways that suppress reporting, are prohibited. OSHA has cited employers for rate-based safety incentive programs that effectively punished workers for filing. [1]
Building your safety program from scratch? SafetyFolio's program generator can put a recordkeeping and reporting policy in place in about 15 minutes, a reasonable starting point before you layer on industry-specific procedures.
For the training side of staying compliant, the OSHA training overview covers what's required by standard and how to document it properly.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to report to OSHA if an employee goes to the emergency room but isn't admitted?
No. The 24-hour reporting requirement for hospitalizations applies only to formal in-patient admissions. An employee treated in the ER and discharged the same day does not trigger a mandatory report. The injury may still be recordable on your OSHA 300 log if it took more than first aid, which an ER visit almost always does.
What is the difference between OSHA recordable and OSHA reportable?
Reportable means you must contact OSHA directly within 8 or 24 hours because of a fatality, hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss. Recordable means the case goes on your internal OSHA 300 log. Every reportable event is also recordable, but most recordable events are not reportable. A broken finger needing a splint is recordable but not reportable. A hospitalization after a chemical exposure is both.
How long do I have to complete the OSHA 301 incident report form?
You have 7 calendar days from the day you learn of a recordable work-related injury or illness to complete OSHA Form 301 (or an equivalent). The clock starts when you find out, not when the incident occurred. Keep the completed 301 on file for 5 years after the year it covers.
Can employees see the OSHA 300 log?
Yes. Under 29 CFR 1904.35, current and former employees, personal representatives, and authorized employee representatives can see the 300 log for any establishment where they work or worked. You must provide access by the end of the next business day after the request. Employees can also see their own 301 incident report form within 7 business days of a request.
What industries are exempt from OSHA 300 log recordkeeping?
Employers in low-hazard industries listed in Appendix A to Subpart B of 29 CFR 1904 are partially exempt, even above 10 employees. Examples include many retail, real estate, finance, and professional services establishments. Classification is by primary NAICS code. These employers still must report fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and eye losses to OSHA within the standard timeframes.
What is the OSHA DART rate and why does it matter?
DART stands for Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred. The rate is (number of DART cases x 200,000) divided by total hours worked. OSHA and BLS use it to compare injury rates across employers. A DART rate above your industry average raises your odds of being selected for a programmed inspection, especially now that electronic 300A submissions give OSHA direct visibility into your numbers.
Do I have to report a work-related suicide or overdose to OSHA?
You must report any work-related fatality within 8 hours of learning of it, including suicide or drug overdose, if the event is work-related under 29 CFR 1904.5. Work-relatedness is the key question. If the circumstances have no connection to work conditions or exposures, it may not be work-related. Document your analysis either way. When genuinely uncertain, calling OSHA to ask beats assuming you're off the hook.
Can OSHA inspect my business just because I submitted my 300A data electronically?
Yes. OSHA uses electronically submitted injury and illness data to identify high-hazard workplaces for programmed inspections. Establishments with rates well above their industry average are more likely to be targeted. That's one reason to take your DART rate and total recordable incident rate seriously, and to use your 300 log to drive actual hazard correction instead of just paperwork.
What counts as an amputation for OSHA reporting purposes?
Under 29 CFR 1904.39, an amputation is the traumatic loss of all or part of a body member, including a fingertip, even when no bone is involved. It does not include avulsions, enucleations, deglovings, or scalpings, though those may be reportable for other reasons. Internal amputations, like a ruptured spleen, are not covered. The 24-hour clock starts when you learn of the incident.
What records do I keep for temporary or contract workers?
The employer who supervises day-to-day work is generally responsible for recording temporary workers' injuries on the 300 log. If you're the host employer controlling working conditions, expect to carry the recordkeeping even if a staffing agency technically employs the worker. OSHA recommends a clear written agreement between staffing agency and host employer naming who records and who reports. Without one, OSHA typically holds the host employer accountable.
Is there a penalty for posting the 300A summary late?
Yes. Failing to post OSHA Form 300A from February 1 through April 30 is a citable recordkeeping violation. Inspectors check for it during routine walkthroughs. The penalty is typically classified as other-than-serious or serious depending on your history, and can reach $16,131 per violation as of 2024. Set a calendar reminder for February 1 every year.
Do remote employees working from home fall under OSHA recordkeeping?
Work-related injuries to remote employees can be recordable if they happen while the employee is doing work tasks at home. OSHA generally does not inspect home offices, but if an injury occurs during work activities in the home workspace, the employer must evaluate work-relatedness under 29 CFR 1904.5 and record it if it meets the criteria. Injuries during personal activities at home, like using the bathroom, are not work-related.
What is the deadline to submit OSHA 300A data electronically?
The deadline is March 2 of the year after the calendar year being reported. Data covering 2024 was due March 2, 2025. Submission goes through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application at injurytracking.osha.gov. Employers with 250 or more employees now submit 300 and 301 data on top of the 300A summary, under the expanded requirements effective January 1, 2024.
Can OSHA penalize me for discouraging workers from reporting injuries?
Yes. Under 29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1), employers can't retaliate against workers for reporting injuries or illnesses, and can't create policies that discourage reporting. Rate-based safety incentive programs that hand out bonuses for zero-injury periods have been cited by OSHA as potentially suppressing reporting. Drug testing applied only to injured workers, without reasonable belief that drug use caused the incident, can also violate this rule.
Sources
- OSHA, 29 CFR Part 1904 Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Defines recordkeeping requirements, first aid, work-relatedness, employee access rights, and anti-retaliation provisions under the OSHA recordkeeping standard.
- OSHA, State Plans: OSHA has 26 state-plan states that run their own programs and must maintain standards at least as effective as federal OSHA.
- OSHA, Reporting Fatalities and Severe Injuries (29 CFR 1904.39): Fatalities must be reported within 8 hours; in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and eye losses must be reported within 24 hours of the employer learning of the incident.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: BLS publishes annual industry-level injury and illness rates; the SOII randomly selects establishments including exempt ones to participate in data collection.
- OSHA, Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Final Rule (2023): The 2023 final rule effective January 1, 2024 expanded electronic submission requirements for establishments with 250+ employees to include 300 and 301 data; deadline for annual submission is March 2.
- OSHA, Penalties: As of 2024, the maximum penalty for a serious OSHA violation is $16,131 per violation; willful or repeated violations can reach $161,323 per violation.
- Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Section 17: Section 17(g) of the OSH Act provides criminal penalties up to $10,000 and 6 months imprisonment for knowingly submitting false records; employers have 15 working days to contest a citation.
- OSHA, Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements (FAQs and interpretations): OSHA guidance treats home injuries as work-related when they occur during work tasks; the 2002 interpretation on home-based workers states OSHA will generally not inspect home offices.
- OSHA, Temporary Worker Initiative: The employer who supervises day-to-day work of temporary workers is generally responsible for recording their injuries; OSHA recommends written agreements between staffing agencies and host employers.
- OSHA, Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs: OSHA recommends using recordkeeping data as an input to hazard identification in its recommended practices for safety and health programs.
- BLS, Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Data: BLS annual SOII data provides industry-specific DART rates and total recordable incident rates used by OSHA to benchmark establishment performance.