Tennessee — Workplace Safety

Tennessee operates an OSHA-approved state plan through the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA), which enforces the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1972. TOSHA exercises jurisdiction over both private-sector and state and local government workplaces in Tennessee. Federal OSHA retains jurisdiction over federal government employers (including USPS), private-sector maritime activities (except marine construction, which TOSHA covers), railroad employment not otherwise regulated by another federal agency, employment at Tennessee Valley Authority facilities, and military bases.

Source: Tennessee State Plan | OSHA; Tenn. Code Ann. Title 50, Ch. 3

Tennessee requires most employers to maintain records of workplace injuries and illnesses under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03, which adopts the federal OSHA recordkeeping framework. The core obligation is to maintain three forms: the OSHA 300 Log (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), the OSHA 300A Summary (posted annually), and the OSHA 301 Incident Report form documenting individual cases.

Partial exemption for small employers

Under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03-.02(2), employers with 10 or fewer employees at any time during the previous calendar year do not need to keep TOSHA injury and illness records unless TOSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics notifies them in writing. The exemption is based on peak employment company-wide — the employer determines whether it had no more than 10 employees at its highest employment point in the prior calendar year, looking at the entire company rather than individual establishments. Even if exempt from recordkeeping, all employers must report to TOSHA any workplace incident resulting in a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye under Rule 0800-01-03-.05(1).

Partial exemption for certain industries

Establishments classified in specific NAICS codes listed in Appendix A to Rule 0800-01-03-.02 are exempt from routine recordkeeping regardless of size, unless asked in writing by TOSHA or the BLS. The industry exemption applies establishment-by-establishment (not company-wide), based on the NAICS code for each individual location. Like the size exemption, the industry exemption does not relieve employers of the duty to report fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, or eye losses.

Covered employees

Employers subject to recordkeeping must record on the OSHA 300 Log the recordable injuries and illnesses of all employees on their payroll, "whether they are labor, executive, hourly, salary, part-time, seasonal, or migrant workers." Rule 0800-01-03-.04(2) also requires employers to record injuries to employees not on their payroll if the employer supervises those employees on a day-to-day basis — a rule that typically applies when a host employer directs temporary or leased workers. Self-employed individuals and owners or partners in sole proprietorships or partnerships are not considered employees for recordkeeping purposes.

General recording criteria

Tennessee adopts the federal general recording criteria under Rule 0800-01-03-.03(4). An injury or illness must be recorded if it is work-related and results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. A case is also recordable if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not meet the preceding criteria.

Retention, posting, and employee access

Under Rule 0800-01-03-.04(4), employers must save the OSHA 300 Log, the privacy case list (if one exists), the annual summary (Form 300A), and the OSHA 301 Incident Report forms for five years following the end of the calendar year those records cover. At the end of each calendar year, employers must complete the 300A Summary and post it for employee viewing; Tennessee's regulations specify the posting period and details in the summary requirements.

Employees, former employees, their personal representatives, and authorized employee representatives (defined as collective bargaining agents) have the right to access TOSHA injury and illness records under Rule 0800-01-03-.04(5). Employers must establish a reasonable procedure for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses promptly and accurately, and must inform each employee of that procedure.

Multiple establishments

Employers operating more than one location must keep a separate OSHA 300 Log for each establishment expected to be in operation for one year or longer. For short-term establishments (those operating less than one year), employers may consolidate those records on a single 300 Log or combine them with short-term establishments for individual company divisions or geographic regions. Employers may keep records for all establishments at a central location (such as headquarters) if they can transmit information about injuries and illnesses from each establishment to the central location within the timeframes required for recording.

Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03 (Tennessee TDLWD Rules)