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J. J. Keller protects people and the businesses they run. You can trust our expertise across a wide range of subjects relating to labor, transportation, environmental, and worker safety. Our deep knowledge of federal and state agencies is built on a strong foundation of more than 100 editors and consultants and 70+ years of regulatory compliance experience.

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J. J. Keller protects people and the businesses they run. You can trust our expertise across a wide range of subjects relating to labor, transportation, environmental, and worker safety. Our deep knowledge of federal and state agencies is built on a strong foundation of more than 100 editors and consultants and 70+ years of regulatory compliance experience.

Motor vehicle incidents during commute can be work-related, according to new OSHA interpretation

February 7, 2022

A new OSHA letter of interpretation (LOI) says that if an employee is required to return to the workplace outside of the normal commute, that’s a work activity “in the interest of the employer,” and is work related, meaning it doesn’t meet the “normal commute” exception.

For purposes of Part 1904, OSHA’s longstanding position is that injuries and illnesses that occur during an employee’s normal commute from home to work, and from work to home, are not work-related and therefore not recordable.

However, the LOI poses a scenario in which the employee had completed his normal commute to and from work for the day and was directed back to the workplace by the employer to assist with a work-related emergency. The employee was involved in a car accident enroute, which resulted in the employee sustaining an injury and hospitalization.

Since the employee was required to return to the workplace outside of his normal commute, the employee was engaged in a work activity “in the interest of the employer,” and was traveling as a “condition of employment.” Accordingly, the resulting injury and hospitalization is work-related and must be recorded on the OSHA 300 log.


Publish Date

February 7, 2022

Author

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Type

Industry News

Industries

Education, Professional Services, Real Estate, Communications, General Services, Personal Services, Food Services, Mining, Manufacturing (31/Food/Textiles), Transportation, Entertainment, Hospitality, Retail, Postal/Courier Services, Commercial Services, Waste Management, Wholesale Distribution, Agriculture, Manufacturing (33/Durable), Public Administration, Manufacturing (32/Non-Durable), Warehousing, Healthcare, Repair Services, Financial/Insurance, Company Management, Construction, Utilities

Related Topics

Injury and Illness Recordkeeping

Governing Bodies

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), DOL

Citations

r29CFR1904