One of the obligations of Michigan business owners each year is the occasional filing of key documents, and one of those obligations is approaching this spring. Most Michigan employers with 11 or more employees are required by the Michigan Occupational Safety & Health Administration (MIOSHA) to log and maintain records of any and all work-related injuries and illnesses, and to make those records available during MIOSHA inspections of the workplace.
Martha Yoder is the Director of MIOSHA. She tells business owners, "Recordkeeping is a critical component of an employer's safety and health management system." She reminds them, "MIOSHA's recordkeeping logs can aid employers in identifying and correcting problem areas, preventing future injuries and illnesses and enhancing worker protections."
Your obligation as a business owner is to post the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2015 by the filing deadline of April 30th.
Employers must post the MIOSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses) from February 1 to April 30, 2016.
Among the records required are these:
- MIOSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses)
- MIOSHA Form 301 (Injury & Illness Incident Report)
- MIOSHA Form 330A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses)
The summary must list the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2015 and were logged on the MIOSHA Form 300. Employment information about annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year is also required to assist in calculating incidence rates.
Companies with no injuries and illnesses during the previous year are still required to post the MIOSHA Form 300A with zeros entered on the total line. A company executive must certify that the totals are correct and sign the form. This form is displayed wherever notices to employees are usually posted.
As employers post last year's job-related injuries and illnesses, they should also be reminded of the federal recordkeeping requirements, which expands the list of severe injuries that must be reported to MIOSHA.
MIOSHA Administrative Standard Part 11, requiring employers to report work-related fatalities to MIOSHA within eight hours, has not changed. However, for work-related incidents, employers are no longer required to report inpatient hospitalization of three or more employees within eight hours. This includes any amputation or loss of an eye. Instead, they must report these incidents within 24 hours.
MIOSHA offers courses designed to help employers learn and understand how to record work-related injuries and illnesses; calculate injury and illness rates, and learn how to compare rates to other companies within the North American Industrial Classification System or NAICS; and to ensure their organization complies with MIOSHA recordkeeping requirements as contained in MIOSHA Administrative Rules Part 11.
Additional recordkeeping information, including general guidelines, forms and FAQs is available on the MIOSHA website by clicking the link below:
