February 6, 2004—Workplace safety and labor law experts at G.Neil Corp. advise U.S. small businesses to expect more employee injuries in 2004, and to make sure they are using the legally correct OSHA forms for recording them.
Smaller firms must be prepared, says Christopher Lindekugel, G.Neil’s compliance director, or run the risk of OSHA fines, employee medical bills and workers’ compensation costs.
OSHA requires firms with 11 or more employees (except those in certain low-risk industries such as finance and real estate) to maintain a log and summary of all “recordable” work-related injuries and illnesses.
In 2003, OSHA cited U.S. employers for 83,760 safety and health violations, Lindekugel said, an increase of almost 8 percent from 2002. Almost 60,000 of the violations were “serious,” an increase of 11 percent from 2002.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. workers missed 1.46 million days of productive time because of on-the-job injuries in 2001, he added. Multiply that by the National Safety Council’s estimated cost to an employer of $29,000 per incident, and the total for the year is almost $70 billion.
Lindekugel also pointed out that covered employers need to make sure they’re using the proper documentation to record workplace incidents, because “businesses that don’t follow the regs can be subject to citations and fines.”
OSHA’s Form 300, a daily log of workplace injuries and illnesses for a calendar year, had several revisions including a new column covering hearing loss. Additionally, the posting dates for the 2004 Form 300A were extended for two more months.
G.Neil, which has specialized in labor law and safety products for more than 15 years, produces an exclusive OSHA Recordkeeping System to help business owners and managers comply with OSHA regulations. It also offers OSHA guidebooks, software, tip sheets, safety training tools, and related products via catalog or on its Web site.
