Is You OSHA Log In Compliance With OSHA Privacy Regulations?

 

 

Did you know that Section 1904.29(b)(6) of the OSHA regulation outlines situations where your organization may not include the employee's name on the recordkeeping forms for privacy reasons? Under the law your organization must consider the following types of injuries or illnesses to be privacy concern issues:

  • An injury or illness to an intimate body part or to the reproductive system;
  • An injury or illness resulting from a sexual assault; 
  • A mental illness;
  • A case of HIV infection, hepatitis or tuberculosis;
  • A needle stick injury or cut from a sharp object that is contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious material (see CFR Part 1904.8 for definition), and
  • Other illnesses, if the employee independently and voluntarily requests that his or her name not be entered on the lOSHA log.

Your organization must not enter the employee’s name on the OSHA 300 log for these cases. Instead, you must enter “privacy case” in the space normally used for the employee’s name. You must also keep a separate, confidential list of the case numbers and employee names for the establishment’s privacy concern cases so that you can update the cases and provide information to the government if asked to do so.

 

If you have a reasonable basis to believe that information describing the privacy concern may be personally identifiable even though the employee’s name has been omitted, you must use discretion in describing the injury or illness on both the OSHA log 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 do not need to include details of an intimate or private nature.

 

CompEraser generates your OSHA log for you as part of its service in full OSHA compliance. For more information go to www.comperaser.com.