WORKERS COMPENSATION AND RECORDKEEPING

Under the recordkeeping requirements established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and adopted by virtually all of the state plans, the work-related injury or illness is required to be recorded on the OSHA provided forms. However, safety and health professionals should be aware that the criteria through which a work-related injury or illness becomes recordable is substantially narrower than that of a workers compensation claim. A work-related workers compensation claim in which monies are spent by the employer may not meet the criteria to become an OSHA recordable case. Thus, given the different criteria between workers compensation and OSHA, the same injury or illness could potentially be a difference, depending on which system is being evaluated. 

Jamie Smith is discouraged by the recordkeeping requirements of the company. She keeps forms for OSHA and an additional form for workers compensation requirements. When a compliance officer arrives for a routine inspection, she is surprised to learn that she does not have to keep all the forms. She is also surprised to learn a form must be posted during the months of February through April. She has not posted the form in the past, but now assumes she should after the comment made by the compliance officer. The biggest surprise arrives three months later when the company receives a citation because the appropriate company official did not sign the form. 

What OSH A recordkeeping and workers compensation issues are involved How would you transition Sally back to work ... 

Many cases that are recorded in the OSHA system are also compensable under the State workers compensation system, but many others are not However, the two systems have different purposes and scopes. The OSHA recordkeeping system is intended to collect, compile, and analyze uniform and consistent nationwide data on occupational injuries and illnesses. The workers compensation systan, in contrast, is not designed primarily to generate and collect data but is intended primarily to provide medical coverage and compensation for workers who are killed, injured, or made ill at work, and varies in coverage from one State to another. 

---