Regulatory Compliance and Recordkeeping
Know which rule governs
OSH Act Section 5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause, applies to serious recognized hazards with feasible abatement when no specific standard covers the condition. 29 CFR 1910 covers general industry, 1926 covers construction, and 1904 covers injury and illness recordkeeping. Part 1910.1020 governs employee and exposure-record access. Approved state plans must be at least as effective as the federal program. Variances - temporary, permanent, and experimental - must be applied for, not assumed. Under the multi-employer worksite doctrine, creating, exposing, correcting, and controlling employers can each be cited.
The recordability decision
A case is recordable only if it is work-related, is a new case, and meets at least one of: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant injury diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional. First-aid-only treatment is not recordable.
Retention you must not confuse
- Injury and illness logs: 5 years.
- Employee exposure and medical records: 30 years.
- Training documentation: per the specific standard, often for the duration of employment plus a set period.
Traps
- Posting the 300A year-round instead of February 1 through April 30.
- Mixing 5-year log retention with 30-year exposure-record retention.
- Treating Section 11(c) as protecting only the act of filing a complaint; it protects the underlying right to report hazards.
- Assuming abatement deadlines pause automatically because a citation will be contested.
Rule of thumb: ask three questions in order - work-related? new case? treatment beyond first aid or a listed outcome? If any answer is no, it is not recordable.