Is a Workplace Violence Incident Recordable Even When It Occurs Offsite?

OSHA recently released a Standard interpretation Letter stating that injuries that occur from workplace violence incidents outside of the actual workplace are still recordable, as long as the employee involved is performing a work-related task.

This letter was issued in response to a law firm inquiry. The firm was representing an employer whose employee had been shot following a four-car collision, where the employee was driving a company vehicle on company time. The incident occurred when a driver came to an intersection going the wrong direction. Once the collision occurred, the wrong-way driver got out of their vehicle, shot the employee, and then stole the company vehicle. It was later determined that the employee never did or said anything to provoke the incident, and the reckless driver was actually in the middle of a serial crime spree at the time of the crash. OSHA responded to the inquiry by recognizing that the employee was “traveling in the interest of the employer” as he was driving a company vehicle in between service calls at the time of the accident and subsequent assault. The real impact that this places on companies and employers is the understanding that OSHA includes random acts of violence by people with no connection to the company or employee(s) as recordable acts for an OSHA 300 log. So robberies, active shooters, traffic accidents, etc. could all be recordable if impacted employees are still functioning within the interest of their companies, on the clock, accomplishing some sort of work-related task.

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