OSHA News

New OSHA 300 Forms Now Available

Employers must begin using the revised OSHA Form 300 for recording work-related injuries and illnesses as of January 1, 2004.

The forms have changed in several important ways for 2004. Foremost among the changes is the addition of an occupational hearing loss column. Other changes include:

• "Days away from work" column now comes before the "days on job transfer or restriction"
• More clear formulas for calculating incidence rates
• New recording criteria for occupational hearing loss in the "Overview" section
• More prominent column heading "Classify the Case" to make it clear that employers should mark only one section among the four columns offered

Injuries and illnesses that have occurred before 2004 should continue to be recorded on the appropriate form for that year.

All forms are available online from OSHA at www.osha.gov/pls/publications.