PESH scope — public employees only
New York operates a state OSHA plan covering only public-sector workers. The Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau, created in 1980 under Labor Law § 27-a, enforces workplace safety and health standards for all state and local government employees, including public authorities, school districts, and fire departments. Private-sector employers and federal government workers (including U.S. Postal Service employees and civilian workers on military bases) remain under federal OSHA jurisdiction. PESH has generally adopted all federal OSHA standards applicable to state and local government employment and has authority to develop state-initiated standards.
PESH recordkeeping — injury and illness logs
Public employers covered by PESH must maintain records of work-related injuries and illnesses under 12 NYCRR Part 801. The regulation, which aligns with federal OSHA recordkeeping standards, requires employers to use New York State forms SH-900, SH-900.1, and SH-900.2 (equivalent to federal OSHA forms 300, 300A, and 301, respectively).
Forms and purposes
The SH-900 Log records all work-related injuries and illnesses throughout the calendar year. The SH-900.2 Incident Report documents the details of each individual recordable case. The SH-900.1 Summary aggregates the year's totals. Employers may substitute the federal OSHA 300-series forms if they contain all information required by the state regulation.
Recording criteria
An employer must record every work-related fatality and every work-related injury or illness that involves loss of consciousness, restricted work activity or job transfer, days away from work, or medical treatment beyond first aid. Section 801.7 also mandates recording significant work-related injuries and illnesses diagnosed by a physician or licensed health care professional, even if they do not meet the general criteria. Special recording criteria apply to needlestick injuries, work-related cases of cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked bones, and punctured eardrums.
Retention and posting
All three forms must be retained for five years following the end of the calendar year they cover (§ 801.32(a)). The SH-900.1 Summary must be posted in a conspicuous location where employees customarily see notices from February 1 through April 30 each year, displaying the previous calendar year's data.
Privacy protections
Section 801.29 requires employers to protect employee privacy for certain "privacy concern cases" by not entering the employee's name on the SH-900 Log. Privacy concern cases include injuries or illnesses to intimate body parts or the reproductive system, injuries resulting from sexual assault, HIV infection or hepatitis, mental illness, and needlestick injuries contaminated with another person's blood or other potentially infectious material. The employer must maintain a separate confidential Privacy Case List linking case numbers to employee names.
Electronic reporting
Effective July 31, 2024, PESH amended Part 801 to require certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness data by March 2 each year (§ 801.41). Three categories of covered employers must report:
- Category 1: Establishments with 20–249 employees at any time during the previous calendar year in designated industries must submit data from the SH-900.1 Summary.
- Category 2: Establishments with 250 or more employees at any time during the previous calendar year must submit data from the SH-900.1 Summary.
- Category 3: Establishments with 100 or more employees at any time during the previous calendar year in industries listed in § 801.41(e) must submit data from the SH-900 Log, SH-900.2 Incident Report, and SH-900.1 Summary.
The designated industries for each category are specified by the Commissioner of Labor and identified on the Department of Labor's website.
Employee access
Section 801.35 grants employees, former employees, personal representatives, and authorized employee representatives limited access to the injury and illness records. When an employee or representative requests the SH-900 Log, the employer must provide it by the end of the next business day. If an employee requests the SH-900.2 Incident Report describing an injury or illness to that employee, the employer must provide it by the end of the next business day.
Source: 12 NYCRR Part 801