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When an injury must be reported to OSHA

Summary A senator asked whether an employer had to report a single employee injury to OSHA. OSHA said the described injury did not trigger the then-current reporting rule for fatalities or catastrophes involving five or more injuries, but the employer had to record it on the OSHA 200 log. OSHA now archives the letter as potentially outdated.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1985-09-20
Date issued
September 20, 1985
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA archives this letter and says it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 10, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1904 Recordkeeping Injury Reporting
Source
View the official document

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The current status of this document is unclear
OSHA archives this letter and says it may no longer represent OSHA policy. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

September 20, 1985

The Honorable Rudy Boschwitz
United States Senator
[Recipient address omitted]
Re: Donald Kottschade

File #5238170021

Dear Senator Boschwitz:

Thank you for your letter of August 27 which contained a letter from Mr. Donald Kottschade. Mr. Kottschade expressed concern that the injury suffered by a friend had not been reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by Champion International Mills, Bonner, Montana.

The requirement for reporting fatalities and/or injuries to OSHA (29 CFR 1904.8) states that fatalities involving one or more employees and/or catastrophes involving injuries to five or more employees must be reported. In the matter described by Mr. Kottschade only one employee was injured. There was, therefore, no requirement to report it.

The company would have been required to record the accident on the OSHA 200 Form, the log of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; however, such entries do not have to be reported to OSHA. If the company is inspected, the compliance officer will examine the log. It is not customary, however, to go back more than two or three years. Thus the particular accident reported by Mr. Kottschade would probably not have been noticed in any recent inspection of the employer.

If we can be of further service, we shall be glad to do so.

Sincerely,
John B. Miles, Jr., Director
Directorate of Field Operations

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