Which employers must keep OSHA-required records?

All employers with 11 or more employees in the following industries must keep OSHA occupational injury and illness records:

• Agriculture
• Forestry
• Fishing
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Transportation
• Public utilities
• Wholesale trade

Certain retail trades and service industries, including: building materials, hardware, garden supply, mobile home dealers, general merchandise stores, food stores, hotels, rooming houses, camps, other lodging places, repair services, amusement and recreation services (other than movies) and health services

Employers are not required to keep OSHA injury and illness records for any establishment classified in the following Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, unless they are asked in writing to do so by OSHA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), or a state agency operating under the authority of OSHA or the BLS. All employers, including those partially exempted by reason of company size or industry classification, must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the hospitalization of three or more employees.

You can search for SIC Codes by keywords or by four-digit SIC to retrieve descriptive information of specific SICs in OSHA's online North American Industry Classification System Search, available on OSHA's website at: http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/naics-manual.html. Establishments classified in the following SICs are exempt from most of the recordkeeping requirements, regardless of size:

• 525 Hardware Stores
• 542 Meat and Fish Markets
• 544 Candy, Nut, and Confectionary Stores
• 545 Dairy Products Stores
• 546 Retail Bakeries
• 549 Miscellaneous Food Stores
• 551 New and Used Car Dealers
• 552 Used Car Dealers
• 554 Gasoline Service Stations
• 557 Motorcycle Dealers
• 56 Apparel and Accessory Stores
• 573 Radio, Television, and Computer Stores
• 58 Eating and Drinking Places
• 591 Drug Stores and Proprietary Stores
• 592 Liquor Stores
• 594 Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores
• 599 Retail Stores, Not Elsewhere Classified
• 60 Depository Institutions (Banks and Savings Institutions)
• 61 Nondepository Institutions (Credit Institutions)
• 62 Security and Commodity Brokers
• 63 Insurance Carriers
• 64 Insurance Agents, Brokers, and Services
• 653 Real Estate Agents and Managers
• 654 Title Abstract Offices
• 67 Holding and Other Investment Offices
• 722 Photographic Studios, Portrait
• 723 Beauty Shops
• 724 Barber Shops
• 725 Shoe Repair and Shoeshine Parlors
• 726 Funeral Service and Crematories
• 729 Miscellaneous Personal Services
• 731 Advertising Services
• 732 Credit Reporting and Collection Services
• 733 Mailing, Reproduction, and Stenographic Services
• 737 Computer and Data Processing Services
• 738 Miscellaneous Business Services
• 764 Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
• 78 Motion Picture
• 791 Dance Studios, Schools, and Halls
• 792 Producers, Orchestras, Entertainers
• 793 Bowling Centers
• 801 Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors
• 802 Offices and Clinics of Dentists
• 803 Offices of Osteopathic Physicians
• 804 Offices of Other Health Practitioners
• 807 Medical and Dental Laboratories
• 809 Health and Allied Services, Not Elsewhere Classified
• 81 Legal Services
• 82 Educational Services (Schools, Colleges, Universities, and Libraries)
• 832 Individual and Family Services
• 835 Child Day Care Centers
• 839 Social Services, Not Elsewhere Classified
• 841 Museums and Art Galleries
• 86 Membership Organizations
• 87 Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management, and Related Services
• 899 Services, Not Elsewhere Classified

Reprinted with permission. © CCH