When Was the Last Time You Reviewed Your Health and Safety Programs?
As the year winds down, it’s a good time for veterinary practices to review and reinforce their Health and Safety Programs. These programs are essential for protecting employees and clients and ensuring compliance with OSHA standards.
Following OSHA protocols, especially maintaining Forms 300 and 301, is mandatory for small businesses with ten or more employees. This compliance helps practices document work-related injuries and illnesses effectively. For every incident—whether it involves a missed workday, restricted activity, job transfer, or medical treatment beyond first aid—OSHA Forms 300 and 301 provide the necessary framework for maintaining safety standards and documenting workplace injuries and illnesses.
OSHA defines “work-related” as any injury or illness caused by employment conditions or work activities. Injuries or illnesses included in OSHA’s recordkeeping definitions generally cover conditions like cuts, fractures, sprains, respiratory issues, and other symptoms related to workplace exposure.
| 1904.5(b)(2) You are not required to record injuries and illnesses if… |
| (i) At the time of the injury or illness, the employee was present in the work environment as a member of the general public rather than as an employee. |
| (ii) The injury or illness involves signs or symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a non-work-related event or exposure that occurs outside the work environment. |
| (iv) The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee eating, drinking, or preparing food or drink for personal consumption (whether bought on the employer’s premises or brought in). For example, if the employee is injured by choking on a sandwich while in the employer’s establishment, the case would not be considered work-related. Note: If the employee is made ill by ingesting food contaminated by workplace contaminants (such as lead), or gets food poisoning from food supplied by the employer, the case would be considered work-related. |
| (v) The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to their employment) at the establishment outside of the employee’s assigned working hours. |
| (vi) The injury or illness is solely the result of personal grooming, self medication for a non-work-related condition, or is intentionally self-inflicted. |
| (vii) The injury or illness is caused by a motor vehicle accident and occurs on a company parking lot or company access road while the employee is commuting to or from work. |
| (viii) The illness is the common cold or flu (Note: contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, hepatitis A, or plague are considered work-related if the employee is infected at work). |
| (ix) The illness is a mental illness. Mental illness will not be considered work-related unless the employee voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that the employee has a mental illness that is work-related. |
To complete Form 300, information about the employee’s role, date and location of the incident, and a brief description of the injury must be included. Specific columns on Form 300 categorize the case based on factors such as days away from work, restricted activity, job transfer, or medical treatment. Days of missed work must be recorded in Column K, while restricted days go in Column L. Cases involving medical care beyond first aid must be marked in Column J.
“Medical treatment” excludes minor medical treatment or first aid, which OSHA specifies as administering non-prescription medication, minor wound care, and other minor procedures.
After each calendar year, your practice must complete a summary of the year’s recordable incidents, known as OSHA Form 300A, and post it visibly for employees by February 1. This report must remain displayed until April 30. Additionally, practices must retain these records for five years and update them if there are any changes to recorded cases.
OSHA Form 301 must be electronically submitted to OSHA by March 2.
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns on OSHA Form 300A or 301! Mbingham@granitepeakcpa.com
Written by Meghan Bingham, CVPM