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42 Pallet C e nt ral • Janu a r y - Fe b r u a r y 2 0 26 T here are a variety of incidents that can occur in the workplace or while team members are working outside of a company-controlled work environment, such as at a customer's location, or while traveling between locations while on- the-job (e.g., traffic accidents). Some of these incidents will trigger reporting requirements to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) or its state analog agencies, such as Cal-OSHA. Some will simply trigger recordkeeping obligations under state or federal laws. Some may trigger insurance notification requirements because they implicate workers' compensation claims or third-party tort actions for personal injury, property damage, or even wrongful death. While there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to incident response— because the types and degrees of severity can differ significantly—it should be the employer's objective to have standardized protocols that will cover the most common types of serious incidents and the appropriate escalation and response approaches. An accident is any unplanned event that results in personal injury or in property damage. It is critical to make it clear: no negative consequences will result to team members as a result of reporting an injury or illness to management. Reporting an injury or illness is protected activity under Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety & Health Act. When a team member's personal work-related injury or illness requires little or no treatment beyond first aid, it is minor and will not need to be recorded for OSHA purposes unless it results in restricted duty, transfer, or days away from work. It should still be reported to your team leader and documented for investigative purposes. If a team member's personal injury results in medical treatment, restricted duty, transfer, lost workdays, or a fatality, it must be recorded on OSHA Forms 300/301 and included in the OSHA Form 300A summary (which must be posted in the workplace between February 1 and April 30 of the following year). If a team member or third party in the workplace incurs a severe injury or illness that results in a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation (full or partial), or eye loss, the condition must be reported to OSHA within 8 hours of learning of a fatality, and within 24 hours for the other categories of severe injury. For work locations under state OSHA agency jurisdiction, there may be more stringent reporting requirements, so check the local requirements. For Federal OSHA, reports can be filed with the local OSHA area office by calling 1-800-321- OSHA, or by completing a report online (https://www.osha.gov/form/ser) and filing it within the requisite time period. Only injuries/illnesses affecting the employer's team members should be OSHA BY ADELE L. ABRAMS, ESQ., ASP, CMSP ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN. MISTAKES DON'T HAVE TO!

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