February 1, 2025, is the deadline for certain employers to post their summary of the prior year’s recordable injuries and illnesses as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Employers can use OSHA’s 300A form to provide this summary.
While the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) applies to most private employers, not all have to keep OSHA injury and illness records and post the summary. Some employers are exempt from keeping these records based on their industry classification. Additionally, employers with fewer than 10 employees at all times during the last calendar year do not need to keep injury and illness records for the following year. Finally, public employers are completely exempt from federal OSHA, although some states have OSHA requirements that apply to public employers.
For employers that do need to post the summary of injuries and illness, they should post it in a “conspicuous place” where they post other notices and employment law posters. The summary should remain posted through April 30.
In addition to this posting requirement, some employers must also electronically report this injury and illness summary to OSHA by March 2. Employers with recordkeeping obligations and over 250 employees in an establishment, i.e. location, must electronically report this data to OSHA. Additionally, certain higher hazard employers with locations that have between 20 and 249 employees must also electronically report this data to OSHA.
As a reminder, even if employers don’t have the recordkeeping or reporting obligations discussed above, all employers subject to OSHA’s jurisdiction do have reporting obligations for work-related fatalities and severe injuries (inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, and eye loss).
Failure to timely satisfy these recordkeeping, posting, and reporting obligations can result in OSHA citations with penalties typically up to $16,550 per violation for 2025. Willful or repeated violations can cost up to $165,514 per violation.
If you have questions about your OSHA recordkeeping obligations, please contact an Employer’s Council attorney to discuss.
Jennifer Vold is an attorney for Employers Council.