Recording injuries from fights on employer premises

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

August 18, 1993

Mr. Stephen G. Kastensmidt
OSHA Recordkeeping Group
Brown & Root, Inc.
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Kastensmidt:

Thank you for your letter dated August 2, asking for an interpretation regarding the work relationship of an injury occurring on the company premises. The general rule is that all injuries and illnesses that occur to employees on the employer's premises are presumed to be work related. This presumption is rebuttable if the worker is on the employer's premises as a member of the general public or if the employee's symptoms are the result of a non-work related event or exposure off premises and merely surface on the employer's premises (see Q&A C-8, on page 34 of the Guidelines). Thus if an employee is injured in a fist fight on company premises, that injury is considered to be work related for OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping purposes. If the injury involves days away from work, as per your example, the case is recordable. Fist fights are analogous to situations involving horseplay for recordkeeping purposes (see Q&A C-7 on page 34 of the Guidelines).

I hope you find this information useful. If you have any further questions, please contact my staff at Area Code (202) 219-6463.

Sincerely,
Stephen A. Newell Director
Office of Statistics