OSHA’s position is that preventive measures taken to protect employees from injury are not recordable. If you have an employee who:
- Complains of discomfort and asks for lighter duty or a temporary transfer, AND
- Is still capable of performing his/her normal job duties,
OSHA does not consider this a recordable incident.
However, if the transfer or restricted duty is necessary because the employee experienced too much pain or discomfort to continue normal job duties, then the incident must be recorded. This may include recording restricted duty days, as applicable, even if the restricted duty was not recommended by a physician or other licensed health care professional.