Reporting Serious Injuries and Illnesses to Cal/OSHA
Cal/OSHA continues to issue citations at California K-12 public schools for failing to report “serious” injuries, illnesses, and fatalities immediately. “Immediately” means reporting the incident to the nearest Cal/OSHA District Office as soon as possible but not longer than 8-hours after the employer has knowledge of the event or with diligent inquiry would have known of the serious injury/illness. This 8-hour reporting requirement applies even if the incident occurs “after hours”, on a holiday, or weekend. Reporting of the incident must come from the employer (school district). RESIG cannot report to Cal/OSHA for the employer.
A “serious” physical injury or illness requiring immediate reporting to Cal/OSHA is defined as “any injury or illness occurring in the place of employment or in connection with employment”, that results in:
- Inpatient hospitalization for other than medical observation.
- The loss of any member of the body.
- Any serious degree of permanent disfigurement.
- Impairment sufficient to cause a part of the body or the function of an organ to become permanently and significantly reduced in efficiency on or off the job, including, but not limited to, depending on the severity, lacerations with significant bleeding or requiring stitches, second-degree or worse burns, crushing injuries including internal injuries even though the skin surface may be intact, respiratory illnesses, or broken bones.
Non-compliance with this Cal/OSHA regulation is a mandatory $5,000 civil penalty.