labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Every employer is required to post a Colorado OSHA 300 form beginning on February 1, 2007. The forms must remain posted in a prominent place until April 30, 2007. Under OSHA regulations, the forms list all work-related accidents and illnesses in the prior year. In this case, that’s all injuries from 2006. The form must be posted in an area where employees will see it. A spot in the employee break room or near the time clock is popular. In addition, a copy of the form must be sent to OSHA for the agency’s annual records.

OSHA compiles national figures on workplace safety from the OSHA 300 forms. In 2005, the last full year for which we have workplace safety statistics, there were 4,214,200 work related accidents. Those incidents resulted in 1,234,700 lost workdays. Even more tragically, 5,702 workers lost their lives in fatal accidents during the year. As surprisingly high as those numbers are, they include only accidents for employees in the private sector. Accidents involving police, firefighters, paramedics and other government or non-profit employees are not even included.

The frequency of certain types of accidents might surprise you. There were 270,890 painful back injuries at work in 2005. Over a half million workers (503,530) suffered sprains, strains or tears in 2005. A total of 255,750 people fell at work.

Most of us think of slips, trips and falls as annoying but not life threatening. Yet, they are one of the most common causes not only of injury, but also of death in the workplace. The second most common type of workplace fatality is the slip, trip or fall. In 2005, 732 people died after a fall at work. Only driving accidents produced more deaths, with 1,258 work-related fatalities.

Colorado is one of 25 states that follow federal OSHA standards for all businesses. A total of 22 states have chosen to establish their own state Occupational and Safety Health Administrations, with names like MIOSHA (for Michigan OSHA) or CAL OSHA (for California OSHA). You might think that employers in those states have an easier time with safety regulations, but you would be wrong. Under federal law, these state agencies must have rules at least as strict as the federal OSHA.

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