Indiana — Workplace Safety

Indiana requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that may cause death or serious injury, consistent with the fundamental duty clause codified at Indiana Code § 22-8-1.1-2. This statute specifically obligates every employer to furnish employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. Additionally, employers are required to comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under Indiana law and federal law incorporated by IOSHA.

Indiana Code § 22-8-1.1-3.1 separately requires employers to comply with all IOSHA standards applicable to their workplaces and to inform employees about their protections and obligations under occupational safety and health law. Employers must make available, and post in a conspicuous place, the notices prepared or approved by the commissioner, alerting employees to relevant standards, rules, and regulations. These provisions form the statutory bedrock for IOSHA enforcement actions in addition to federal OSHA standards.

Indiana operates an OSHA-approved state plan administered by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA), part of the Indiana Department of Labor. The state plan covers all private sector workplaces and state and local government employers in Indiana. Federal OSHA retains jurisdiction over maritime employment (shipyard employment, marine terminals, and longshoring), contract workers and contractor-operated facilities engaged in United States Postal Service mail operations, and enforcement of the field sanitation standard (29 C.F.R. § 1928.110) and temporary labor camps standard (29 C.F.R. § 1910.142) with respect to agricultural establishments. IOSHA adopts all OSHA standards and regulations except it maintains a unique excavations standard.

Source: Ind. Code § 22-8-1.1-2 Source: Ind. Code § 22-8-1.1-3.1 Source: OSHA State Plans — Indiana

All Indiana employers must report work-related fatalities to IOSHA (Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration) within 8 hours of a death, regardless of size or industry. Employers must also report, within 24 hours, any work-related in-patient hospitalization, amputation (with or without bone loss), or loss of an eye. These serious incident reports must be made either by phone (317-232-2693) or via IOSHA's online Serious Event Reporting Form, per the Indiana Department of Labor.

Basis in Indiana Code and regulation: Indiana follows the serious incident reporting requirements from federal OSHA by administrative incorporation. Under 610 IAC 9-3-1, Indiana adopts 29 C.F.R. Part 1904 (as published in the July 1, 2006 edition of the Code of Federal Regulations) as its occupational injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting standard. The rule thereby grounds all workplace injury/illness reporting—including which events must be reported and the method—in state administrative law. The adopted version includes the definitions found in 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39(a)-(b):

• In-patient hospitalization means formal admission to the in-patient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment.
• Amputation is the traumatic loss of a limb or other external body part.
• Loss of an eye is the physical removal of the eye, including enucleation, loss of sight, or destruction of the eye.
• Work-related events are those resulting from events or exposures in the work environment as defined in 29 C.F.R. § 1904.5.

Important nuance: Although IOSHA's practice and web guidance reflect the most current federal OSHA rules, as of this writing the grounding Indiana regulation adopts the 2006 edition of Part 1904. Practitioners should check both the Indiana Administrative Code and current IOSHA guidance for updates if federal OSHA modifies reportable events or methodology beyond the 2006 baseline.

Source: IOSHA Recordkeeping and Reporting Source: 610 IAC 9-3-1

Fatalities — Delayed Deaths: A work-related fatality is reportable to IOSHA if the death occurs within 30 days of the workplace incident that caused it. Employers must notify IOSHA within 8 hours of learning about the fatality, provided the death occurred no more than 30 days after the initial incident. If the employee dies after more than 30 days have passed since the work-related incident, the employer is not required to file a fatality report to IOSHA.

Hospitalizations, Amputations, Eye Loss — Delayed Outcomes: In-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and eye loss are reportable only if the outcome happens within 24 hours of the work-related incident. If an employee is hospitalized, undergoes an amputation, or loses an eye more than 24 hours after the incident, these events are not reportable under IOSHA’s rules. The employer must report within 24 hours of knowing (or when the employer should have known) that the qualifying event occurred, but the injury must have taken place within the first 24 hours after the accident.

These reporting time windows reflect IOSHA’s adoption of federal OSHA’s standards for serious incident reporting. For multi-state employers, this alignment means Indiana’s rules generally match those under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39.

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39, IOSHA Recordkeeping and Reporting

Certain types of workplace incidents are specifically excluded from mandatory reporting to IOSHA (Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration), following federal OSHA rules adopted by Indiana’s state plan.

1. Motor vehicle accidents on public streets or highways Employers are not required to report injuries or fatalities resulting from motor vehicle accidents occurring on a public street or highway, unless the incident occurs in a construction work zone. This exception is found at 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39(b)(2)(iii). Indiana IOSHA adheres to this federal standard, so typical traffic accidents that do not happen within a construction zone are not reportable to IOSHA.

2. Incidents on commercial or public transportation systems OSHA and IOSHA do not require employers to report injuries or incidents that take place on commercial or public transportation systems, such as buses, trains, or subways, per 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39(b)(2)(iv). Indiana’s reporting form and guidance reflect this same carveout.

3. Hospital admission criteria — diagnostic or observation stays An event is reportable only if it involves an in-patient hospitalization stemming from a work-related incident. Hospital visits that involve only observation or diagnostic testing—without formal admittance for treatment—do not trigger the 24-hour reporting requirement. This is clarified by OSHA interpretation and supported by IOSHA’s FAQs referencing the federal criteria (see, e.g., 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39(b)(2)(x)).

Employers should consult the IOSHA online reporting FAQ and the cited OSHA rules for further detail.

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39 Source: IOSHA Accident and Fatality Reporting Source: IOSHA Recordkeeping and Reporting FAQ

Most Indiana employers must maintain OSHA Form 300 (the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), Form 300A (annual summary), and Form 301 (incident report) per IOSHA recordkeeping. Indiana, as an OSHA-approved State Plan state, has adopted the federal recordkeeping standards under 29 C.F.R. Part 1904, enforced by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA).

Small Employer Exemption (29 C.F.R. § 1904.1): Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year are exempt from the routine OSHA and IOSHA injury and illness recordkeeping requirements for Forms 300, 300A, and 301. However, these employers are not exempt from reporting serious injuries—any work-related fatality must be reported within 8 hours, and any in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye must be reported within 24 hours.

Low-Hazard Industry Exemption (29 C.F.R. § 1904.2): Establishments classified in certain low-hazard industries (listed by NAICS code in Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 1904) are also partially exempt from routine injury and illness recordkeeping. These employers are not required to maintain Forms 300, 300A, or 301 unless they receive a written request from OSHA, BLS, or the Indiana DOL. But, as with the small employer exemption, they must still report any serious incidents as described above.

IOSHA Policy: IOSHA guidance confirms these two categories of exemption. All Indiana employers must report serious incidents described above, regardless of exemption status. No exemption removes or delays the duty to report fatalities or serious injuries promptly to IOSHA.

Summary for Indiana practitioners:

• Maintain OSHA logs if you had more than 10 employees at any time last year and your establishment is not on the low-hazard list (see Appendix A to Subpart B of 29 C.F.R. Part 1904 for NAICS codes).
• If you qualify for either exemption, you do not need to maintain the OSHA logs, but you do need to report serious incidents within the federally required timeframes.

Source: 29 C.F.R. Part 1904 Source: IOSHA Recordkeeping and Reporting

Under Indiana law, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) is specifically prohibited from adopting or enforcing any workplace safety and health regulation that is more stringent than its federal OSHA counterpart. This rule is codified at Indiana Code § 22-8-1.1-17.5. The section states: “The commissioner may not adopt or enforce any provision of an occupational safety or health standard that is more stringent than the corresponding federal provision enforced by the United States Department of Labor under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.”

Scope and Application:

• The restriction on stringency applies to all occupational safety and health standards under Indiana’s state plan, not merely to certain categories. The law’s language provides no exceptions or carve-outs for specific types of hazards, workplaces, or industries.
• Effectively, Indiana’s IOSHA can be equally stringent or identical to federal OSHA, or less stringent only if allowed by federal law, but never more demanding than the federal minimum. (This is in marked contrast to some other state plans, such as California’s, which regularly exceed federal floor requirements.)
• The statutory text is categorical: there are no listed exceptions allowing for more stringent state requirements, and no agency guidance or state court decisions have carved out a narrower reading.

Context:

• This general stringency prohibition means Indiana employers can focus on maintaining compliance with federal OSHA standards, without the risk of state-level heightened requirements. Multi-state employers who may be familiar with more aggressive state OSHA programs should note Indiana’s explicit bar on exceeding the federal floor.

Source: Ind. Code § 22-8-1.1-17.5