Feb 1 Deadline Ahead: Employers Must Post Injury & Illness Summaries by Feb 1, Safety.BLR.com Reminds Safety Managers

Clear a space on the company bulletin board. Safety.BLR.com reminds safety managers that OSHA regulations require that OSHAs 300A form, a summary of all 2004 workplace illnesses and injuries, must be posted prominently in the workplace between February 1 and April 30 2005.

Old Saybrook, CT (PRWEB) January 31, 2005 -- Clear a space on the company bulletin board, folks. OSHA regulations require that OSHAs 300A form, a summary of all 2004 workplace illnesses and injuries, must be posted prominently in the workplace between February 1 and April 30 2005. Failure to comply with OSHA recordkeeping requirements could result in fines of $10,000 (some organizations are exempt because of size or type of business).

Steve Quilliam, editor at Safety.BLR.com, a website that makes safety training and compliance easier, explained some other changes in the new law, which went into effect for injuries occurring in 2003: One of the most confusing concepts of recordkeeping has been restricted work. The new rule," he explained, clarifies the definition of restricted work or light duty and makes it easier to record those cases." Restricted work activity occurs as the result of a work-related injury or illness that keeps an employee from doing the routine functions of the job or from working the full workday.

Quilliam points out another key difference: OSHA is trying to better define work-related injuries, to ensure that cases clearly unrelated to work are excluded." OSHA says that an injury or illness is considered work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the condition, or significantly aggravated a preexisting condition.

The 300A summary must list the total numbers of job-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses that occurred in 2004 and were logged on the OSHA 300 form. Employment information about annual average number of employees and total hours worked is also required.

Safety Meetings and Safety Talks
Business & Legal Reports, Inc.s website, Safety.BLR.com, features hundreds of safety meetings – in PowerPoint®, outline, or talk formats — plus safety tools like checklists and clipart. Plain-English interpretations of all federal and state OSHA regulations are also provided.

Safety.BLR.com offers a free download of its members-only summary of OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements. To get the download go to http://www.blr.com/81001600/WBS560, or call 800-727-5257.

About BLR
Old Saybrook, Conn.-based BLR provides plain-English compliance and training tools for safety, environmental, HR, and compensation managers. For information and a free catalog, call 800-727-5257 or visit www.BLR.com.

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