That Injury Is Probably Recordable
An employee brought lithium-ion batteries from home for a personal e-cigarette. They sparked a fire at work and injured him. Recordable?
OSHA says yes, and a recent Letter of Interpretation explains why every employer should pay attention.
Under OSHA’s recordkeeping rules, an injury is “work-related” if an event in the work environment caused, contributed to, or significantly aggravated it. That word “contributed” does heavy lifting. Work doesn’t have to be the main cause. It just has to be a cause.
Then there is the geographic presumption: if it happens at work, it is presumed recordable unless a narrow exception applies. The burden is on the employer to prove otherwise. The battery case shows how broad this is. The item was personal and unrelated to job duties, but the employee was at work, as a condition of employment. That was enough.
A common occurrence helps put this e-cigarette lighter injury into perspective. Pre-existing conditions. A bad back aggravated while lifting at work is likely recordable, even though the condition predates the job.
Willful recordkeeping failures can exceed $160,000 per violation. When in doubt, document before you leave it off the log.