Q184 - Bring Your Pet to Work

Question:

During a bring your pet to work day, one employee brought a pet python to his office. After not seeing the employee for most of the day, his coworkers checked on him in his office and found the python had bit his head and was coiled around his suffocated body. Is it recordable?

Answer:

YES. This is a work-related fatality and should be recorded on the OSHA 300 log AND reported to OSHA within 8 hours. Injuries caused by animals in the work environment (including pets) are not listed as an exception to work-relatedness.

1904.7(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it 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. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.

How to Report a Fatality