Subpart B - Scope

Subpart B provides the scope for the recordkeeping requirements for employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). According to the scope, all employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) are covered by these standards. Most employers do not have to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) informs them in writing that they must keep records. 

Special Requirements

Tab/Accordion Items

Scope: This section provides the recordkeeping requirements for partial exemptions for employers with 10 or fewer employees.

Special Requirements: Records, informed in writing, report to OSHA

1904.1(a)(1) - If your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics informs you in writing that you must keep records under 1904.41 or 1904.42. However, as required by 1904.39, all employers covered by the OSH Act must report to OSHA any work-related incident that results in a fatality, the in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees, an employee amputation, or an employee loss of an eye.

1904.1(a)(2) - If your company had more than ten (10) employees at any time during the last calendar year, you must keep OSHA injury and illness records unless your establishment is classified as a partially exempt industry under 1904.2.

Scope: This section provides recordkeeping requirements for partial exemptions for employers in certain industries.

Special Requirements: Records, report to OSHA, references other standards

1904.2(a)(1) - If your business establishment is classified in a specific industry group listed in appendix A - Partially Exempt Industries, to this subpart, you do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless the government asks you to keep the records under 1904.41 or 1904.42. However, all employers must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in an employee's fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye (see 1904.39).

1904.2(a)(2) - If one or more of your company's establishments are classified in a non-exempt industry, you must keep OSHA injury and illness records for all of such establishments unless your company is partially exempted because of size under 1904.1.

1904.2(b)(1) - 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 partially exempt.

Scope: This section provides the recordkeeping requirements for keeping records for more than one agency.

Special Requirements: Records, information

1904.3 - If you create records to comply with another government agency's injury and illness recordkeeping requirements, OSHA will consider those records as meeting OSHA's Part 1904 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 this Part 1904 requires you to record. You may contact your nearest OSHA office or State agency for help in determining whether your records meet OSHA's requirements.

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