Applying OSHA’s geographic presumption for work-related injuries
OSHA recently cited an online retailer nearly $30,000 for failing to properly record injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 Logs at six facilities. Violations included failing to record cases, misclassifying cases, and not recording cases within seven days after learning about them.
Under the geographic presumption, OSHA assumes that any injury at work is work-related, unless a specific exception in 1904.5 applies. Those exceptions are extremely narrow. Incidents can be work-related even if the employee was not engaged in job tasks at the time, and even if the employer could not have prevented the injury.
When OSHA published the current recordkeeping standard in 2001, the agency stated that “all injuries and illnesses which result from events or exposures occurring to employees on the employer’s premises are presumed to be work related.” In addition, OSHA noted that “the nature of the activity which the employee is engaged in at the time of the event or exposure, the degree of employer control over the employee’s activity, the preventability of the incident, or the concept of fault do not affect the determination [of work-relatedness].”
Assumption of work-relatedness
OSHA assumes all incidents are “work-related” for the OSHA 300 Log. Remembering that fault is not a consideration may help when recording cases like these:
- An employee dropped his keys and injured his back while bending down to pick them up, resulting in medical treatment. Despite a pre-existing back condition, OSHA ruled that picking up his keys was an “event” in the workplace, so the injury was work-related.
- An employee walking up stairs said his knee “popped” and he required a rigid brace, which counts as medical treatment. OSHA ruled that simply walking up stairs was an “event” at work, so the case was work-related. The above summaries come from OSHA’s Letters of Interpretation responding to employer inquiries. They illustrate how nearly any event in the work environment can be work-related.
In another Letter of Interpretation, OSHA stated that “normal body movements in the work environment, such as walking, bending down or sneezing, are ‘events’ which trigger the presumption for work-relatedness.”
What is the work environment?
Per 1904.5(b)(1), the “work environment” includes “the establishment and other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment.” It does not matter if the employee is “on the clock,” only that the employee is present as a condition of employment. For example:
- An employee arrived for work and, before punching in, used the restroom. He slipped and fell, needing sutures for a laceration. OSHA ruled that the injury was work-related because it happened in the work environment.
- An employee punched out after work and, before leaving, brushed snow from her car. She slipped and sprained her knee. OSHA ruled that she was present as a condition of employment, so the injury was work-related.
Employers should familiarize themselves with the nine exceptions listed in 1904.5. However, even if the employer cannot identify a specific hazard, and even if the employee has a pre-existing condition, a resulting injury will be work-related unless one of those narrow exceptions applies.
Key to remember: Under the geographic presumption, incidents that occur before work or after punching out can be work-related, even if the employee was not performing job tasks at the time.
