Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting - Washington

Most of Washington’s requirements for Form 300 and injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting are identical to the federal requirements. A summary of the additional requirements is provided below.

Recording injuries and illnesses

• The healthcare employers with SIC codes 801, 802, 803, 804, 807, and 809 do not receive a partial exemption from recordkeeping requirements. They must fully comply with the recordkeeping provisions. This is more stringent than the federal OSHA rule, which exempts these SIC codes from keeping injury and illness records, but requires reporting fatalities and multiple hospitalizations.
• Public employers in SIC 821 (elementary and secondary schools) and 823 (libraries) do not need to keep injury and illness records, unless WISHA, OSHA or the BLS asks them to do so.

Reporting injuries and illnesses

WAC Chapter 296-800 requires all employers working in the state of Washington regardless of industry must call 1-800-423-7233 or visit an L&I Office to report:

• A workplace fatality or in-patient hospitalization of any employee within eight (8) hours of the incident.
• A non-hospitalized amputation or loss of an eye(s) of any employee within twenty-four (24) hours of the incident.

When reporting a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye(s) the employer must provide:

• The establishment name;
• The location of the work-related incident;
• The time and date of the work-related incident;
• The type of reportable event (i.e., fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye);
• The number of employees who suffered a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye;
• The names of the employees who suffered a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye;
• Your contact person and their phone number; and
• A brief description of the work-related incident.

Additionally,

• Washington state requires all fatalities to be reported, regardless of cause, including motor vehicle accidents and incidents that occur on a commercial or public transportation system. This is more stringent than federal OSHA, which exempts motor vehicle accidents that are not in work zones, as well as commercial and public transportation accidents.
• If an employer does not learn about a reportable incident at the time it occurs (and the incident would be reportable otherwise), the employer must report based on the time the incident is reported to any agent or employee of the employer.
• Also you must report fatalities that occur within 30 days of an incident.
• Unlike federal OSHA, Washington state’s WAC 296-800-32010 covers requirements that ensure any equipment involved in a reportable accident or incident is not moved.
• Unlike federal OSHA, Washington state’s WAC 296-800-32015 requires that employers assign people to assist Department of Labor and Industries personnel when they arrive at the scene to investigate a reportable incident.
• Unlike federal OSHA, Washington state’s WAC 296-800-32020 covers requirements for employers to conduct a preliminary investigation of all serious injuries.
• Unlike federal OSHA, Washington state’s WAC 296-800-32025 covers requirements for employers to document investigation findings.
• Unlike federal OSHA, Washington state’s 296-800-099 defines the term, “inpatient hospitalization.”

Regulatory links

To ensure that you are in compliance with these requirements, click on the following links to view the state and federal regulations regarding Form 300 and injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting:

Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting

Citations

Washington:

WAC 296-27, Recordkeeping and reporting

• WAC 296-27-00101 Purpose and scope
• WAC 296-27-00103 Partial exemption for employers with ten or fewer employees
• WAC 296-27-00105 Partial exemption for private employers in certain industries
• WAC 296-27-00107 Keeping records for more than one agency
• WAC 296-27-00109 Nonmandatory appendix to this section – Partially exempt industries
• WAC 296-27-011 Recordkeeping forms and recording criteria
• WAC 296-27-01101 Recording criteria
• WAC 296-27-01103 Determination of work-relatedness
• WAC 296-27-01105 Determination of new cases
• WAC 296-27-01107 General recording criteria
• WAC 296-27-01109 Recording criteria for needlestick and sharps injuries
• WAC 296-27-01111 Recording criteria for cases involving medical removal under OSHA standards
• WAC 296-27-01113 Recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss
• WAC 296-27-01115 Recording criteria for work-related tuberculosis cases
• WAC 296-27-01119 Forms
• WAC 296-27-021 Other injury and illness recordkeeping requirements
• WAC 296-27-02101 Multiple business establishments
• WAC 296-27-02103 Covered employees
• WAC 296-27-02105 Annual summary
• WAC 296-27-02107 Retention and updating
• WAC 296-27-02109 Change in business ownership
• WAC 296-27-02111 Employee involvement
• WAC 296-27-02113 Prohibition against discrimination
• WAC 296-27-02117 Variances from the recordkeeping rule
• WAC 296-27-031 Reporting fatality, injury, and illness information
• WAC 296-27-03101 Providing records to government representatives
• WAC 296-27-03103 Annual OSHA injury and illness survey
• WAC 296-27-03105 Requests from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for data
• WAC 296-27-041 Transition from the former rule
• WAC 296-27-04101 Summary and posting of the 2001 data
• WAC 296-27-04103 Retention and updating of old forms
• WAC 296-27-051 Definitions
• WAC 296-27-05101 Definitions
• WAC 296-27-061 Nonmandatory Appendix A – Age adjustment calculations for comparing audiograms for recording hearing loss

WAC 296-800-320, Accident reporting & investigating

• WAC-800-320 Summary
• WAC 296-800-32010 Make sure that any equipment involved in an accident isn’t moved
• WAC 296-800-32015 Assign people to assist the Department of Labor and Industries
• WAC 296-800-32020 Conduct a preliminary investigation for all serious injuries
• WAC 296-800-32025 Document the investigation findings

Federal: 29 CFR 1904