Recordkeeping (29 CFR Part 1904, all covered employers)

Employee Involvement

Verified vs OSHA sources · 2026-09-30

29 CFR 1904.35

29 CFR 1904.35 brings employees into the injury records in two ways. You must have a reasonable procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses, tell every employee about it and about their right to report, and never retaliate for a report. And employees, former employees and their representatives can get a copy of the OSHA 300 Log by the end of the next business day.

Verified against the eCFR (Title 29, current as of September 25, 2026) and the Federal Register (81 FR 29624) · September 30, 2026

29 CFR 1904.35 at a glance

Reporting procedure: Reasonable, prompt and accurate; one that would deter or discourage a reasonable employee is not reasonable ((b)(1)(i))
What each employee is told: How to report, that they have the right to report, and that retaliation for reporting is prohibited ((b)(1)(ii), (iii))
Retaliation: Prohibited for reporting a work-related injury or illness ((b)(1)(iv))
300 Log copies: By the end of the next business day, names left on except privacy concern cases ((b)(2)(iii), (iv))
301 copies: An employee's own 301 by the next business day; a union representative gets the case description within 7 calendar days ((b)(2)(v))
Cost: The first copy is free ((b)(2)(vi))

What 29 CFR 1904.35 requires (plain English)

Most of Part 1904 is about what the employer writes down. 1904.35 is about the people the records describe. Its first half makes sure injuries get reported at all. You need a reasonable procedure for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses promptly and accurately, and the rule draws the line itself: a procedure is not reasonable if it would deter or discourage a reasonable employee from accurately reporting a workplace injury or illness ((b)(1)(i)). Each employee is told how to report, that they have the right to report, and that the employer is prohibited from discharging or discriminating against them for it ((b)(1)(ii), (iii)). And the employer must not retaliate ((b)(1)(iv)).

Those words date from OSHA's final rule of May 12, 2016 (81 FR 29624), effective August 10, 2016 for this section. The preamble explains that the reasonableness language clarifies a requirement already described in a 2012 OSHA enforcement memorandum, and that the duty to inform employees of their right to report without retaliation can be met by posting a recently revised version of the OSHA poster.

The second half is access. Employees, former employees, their personal representatives and authorized employee representatives (a collective bargaining agent) can ask for the 300 Log of an establishment where the employee worked. The copy is due by the end of the next business day, with names left on except for privacy concern cases ((b)(2)(iii), (iv)). An employee gets their own 301 Incident Report on the same clock; a union representative gets only the section titled "Tell us about the case," within 7 calendar days ((b)(2)(v)). The first copy is free ((b)(2)(vi)).

The regulatory text

“You must establish a reasonable procedure for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses promptly and accurately. A procedure is not reasonable if it would deter or discourage a reasonable employee from accurately reporting a workplace injury or illness”

29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1)(i)

Key facts about 29 CFR 1904.35

1904.35(b)(1)(i) requires a reasonable procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses promptly and accurately. A procedure that would deter or discourage a reasonable employee from reporting is not reasonable.
Each employee must be told how to report, that they have the right to report, and that the employer is prohibited from discharging or discriminating against them for reporting (1904.35(b)(1)(ii), (iii)).
OSHA added the reasonableness language, the right-to-report notice and the prohibition of (b)(1)(iv) in its May 12, 2016 final rule (81 FR 29624), effective August 10, 2016 for 1904.35.
OSHA's 2016 preamble says posting a recently revised version of the OSHA poster meets the duty to tell employees they can report without retaliation (81 FR 29624).
Employees, former employees and their representatives get a copy of the 300 Log by the end of the next business day, with names left on except in privacy concern cases (1904.35(b)(2)(iii), (iv)).
An authorized employee representative can obtain only the "Tell us about the case" section of the 301 Incident Reports, within 7 calendar days (1904.35(b)(2)(v)(B)).
Federal OSHA issued no citation under 1904.35 to a construction employer in fiscal year 2025 (HazComFast count from Labor Department enforcement data).

Scope: who 29 CFR 1904.35 applies to

Regulatory framework: Recordkeeping (29 CFR Part 1904, all covered employers)
Citation reference: 29 CFR 1904.35
Enforcement status: In force and enforced
Jurisdiction: Federal OSHA (29 State-Plan jurisdictions may be stricter)

State-Plan states (e.g. California, Washington, Michigan) operate OSHA-approved programs that must be at least as effective as federal OSHA and frequently impose higher penalties or additional requirements. Confirm the rule as adopted in your state.

Key requirements of 29 CFR 1904.35

#	Employer obligation
1	Establish a reasonable procedure for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses promptly and accurately (1904.35(b)(1)(i))
2	Inform each employee of the procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses (1904.35(b)(1)(ii))
3	Inform each employee of the right to report and that retaliation for reporting is prohibited (1904.35(b)(1)(iii))
4	Do not discharge or discriminate against an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness (1904.35(b)(1)(iv))
5	Give employees, former employees and their representatives a copy of the OSHA 300 Log by the end of the next business day, names left on (1904.35(b)(2)(iii), (iv))
6	Give an employee's own 301 by the next business day and an authorized employee representative the case description section within 7 calendar days; first copies are free (1904.35(b)(2)(v), (vi))

Summarized from the text of 29 CFR 1904.35. Always read the full regulation for the binding language.

Common Employee Involvement violations

Federal OSHA issued no citation under 1904.35 to a construction employer in fiscal year 2025 (HazComFast count from Labor Department enforcement data). The deficiencies the text makes citable:

A reporting procedure that would deter or discourage a reasonable employee from reporting (1904.35(b)(1)(i)).
Employees never told how to report a work-related injury or illness (1904.35(b)(1)(ii)).
No notice to employees of their right to report and of the prohibition on retaliation (1904.35(b)(1)(iii)).
Discipline or other discrimination against an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness (1904.35(b)(1)(iv)).
A 300 Log copy refused, delivered after the next business day, or handed over with names removed (1904.35(b)(2)(iii), (iv)).
A fee charged for the first copy (1904.35(b)(2)(vi)).

Employee access is not government access

1904.35 and 1904.40 hand over the same records on different clocks. A current or former employee, or their representative, gets the 300 Log by the end of the next business day (1904.35(b)(2)(iii)). An OSHA, NIOSH or State Plan representative gets the Part 1904 records within four business hours (1904.40(a)). And the names stay on the copy the employee receives: 1904.35(b)(2)(iv) forbids removing them. The protection for a sensitive case comes earlier, when the case is recorded: a privacy concern case never carries the employee's name on the log (1904.29(b)(6) to (9)).

What OSHA inspectors look for

Most of this section is checked with documents and a few questions. Is there a written or posted way to report? Were employees told how to report and that they can report without retaliation? Did anyone get disciplined after reporting? And when an employee asked for the log, did the copy go out by the end of the next business day, names on, free?

Example: how a violation is cited

A carpenter who left the company in March asks the office in June for a copy of the 300 Log of the yard where they worked. Former employees have the same right as current ones: the copy is due by the end of the next business day, with names left on except privacy concern cases, and the first copy is free (1904.35(b)(2), (b)(2)(iii), (iv), (vi)).

Illustrative example, not a specific OSHA case.

29 CFR 1904.35 step by step

Step 1
Write the reporting procedure
Who the worker tells, how, and by when. Keep it something a reasonable employee can follow: a procedure that would deter or discourage reporting is not reasonable (1904.35(b)(1)(i)).
Step 2
Tell every employee
At hire and on each crew: how to report, that they have the right to report, and that retaliation for reporting is prohibited ((b)(1)(ii), (iii)). OSHA's 2016 preamble says a recently revised OSHA poster meets the notice duty (81 FR 29624).
Step 3
Read your programs against (b)(1)(iv)
Incentives, discipline rules, anything tied to injury numbers: does any of it punish a report? The rule prohibits discharging or discriminating against an employee for reporting.
Step 4
Name who answers log requests
A copy of the 300 Log goes out by the end of the next business day, names left on, privacy concern cases recorded without the name under 1904.29(b)(6) to (9) ((b)(2)(iii), (iv)).
Step 5
Sort 301 requests by requester
An employee or their personal representative gets that employee's full 301 by the next business day. A union representative gets only the "Tell us about the case" section, within 7 calendar days ((b)(2)(v)).

2026 penalties for 29 CFR 1904.35

Maximums set by 29 CFR 1903.15(d). 2026 amounts unchanged from 2025 (no CPI adjustment; OMB M-26-11). Not an increase. The 2025 OSHA penalty levels remain in effect for 2026; OSHA made no inflation adjustment for 2026. 29 CFR 1903.15 identifies January 15, 2025 as the effective reference for these amounts, while OSHA's public penalties page currently references penalties assessed after Jan. 15, 2026.

Violation type	Minimum	Maximum	When it applies
Serious	$1,085	$16,550	Substantial probability of death or serious physical harm.
Other-Than-Serious	$0	$16,550	Relates to safety/health but unlikely to cause death or serious harm.
Willful	$11,823	$165,514	Intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard of the requirement.
Repeated	$4,256	$165,514	A substantially similar violation cited within the last 5 years.
Failure to Abate	None	$16,550/day	up to $16,550 per day; total capped at 30x the daily amount (FOM Ch.6)

A violation of 1904.35 falls under the same maximums as any OSHA violation: up to $16,550 for a serious or other-than-serious violation and up to $165,514 for a willful or repeated one (29 CFR 1903.15(d)). Federal OSHA issued no citation under 1904.35 to a construction employer in fiscal year 2025 (HazComFast count from Labor Department enforcement data).

Maximums and the willful minimum are set by 29 CFR 1903.15(d); the serious and repeated minimums are OSHA policy floors from its annual penalty adjustment memo. OSHA applies gravity-based and size, good-faith and history reductions (FOM CPL 02-00-164 Ch.6). Estimates only, not legal advice.

The business case for Employee Involvement compliance

Every other Part 1904 duty depends on this one. A case nobody reports never reaches the log, the 300A or the electronic submission. In its 2016 rule OSHA wrote that employee fear of retaliation is a real barrier to reporting work-related injuries and illnesses, and that the information requirements would lead to more accurate reporting (81 FR 29624).

Free compliance tools for 29 CFR 1904.35

OSHA 301 Incident Form OSHA Recordability Decision Tree OSHA 300A Auto-Filler

Employee Involvement penalties by state

Penalties and enforcement vary by state. State-Plan states may impose higher penalties and additional requirements beyond federal 29 CFR 1904.35.

Alabama Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia

View all 50 states + DC →

Frequently asked questions about 29 CFR 1904.35

Can employees see the OSHA 300 Log?

Yes. Employees, former employees, their personal representatives and their authorized employee representatives have the right to a copy of the 300 Log for an establishment the employee worked in, by the end of the next business day (29 CFR 1904.35(b)(2)(iii)). The names stay on the copy; only privacy concern cases are recorded without the name in the first place (1904.35(b)(2)(iv); 1904.29(b)(6) to (9)).

What makes an injury reporting procedure unreasonable?

The rule says a procedure is not reasonable if it would deter or discourage a reasonable employee from accurately reporting a workplace injury or illness (29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1)(i)). OSHA added that sentence in 2016 and described it as a clarification of an existing requirement, explained in a 2012 enforcement memorandum (81 FR 29624).

How do I tell employees they can report without retaliation?

1904.35(b)(1)(iii) requires telling each employee that they have the right to report work-related injuries and illnesses and that employers are prohibited from discharging or discriminating against them for reporting. OSHA's 2016 preamble says this can be met by posting a recently revised version of the OSHA poster (81 FR 29624).

Can a union get copies of the 301 incident reports?

An authorized employee representative, meaning the collective bargaining agent, can get copies of the 301s for an establishment where it represents employees, within 7 calendar days, but only the section titled "Tell us about the case." All other information is removed from the copy (29 CFR 1904.35(b)(2)(v)(B)).

Can I charge for copies of the log?

Not the first time. The first copies are free; if a designated person asks for additional copies, you may assess a reasonable charge for retrieving and copying the records (29 CFR 1904.35(b)(2)(vi)).

Who counts as an employee's personal representative?

Anyone the employee or former employee designates in writing, or the legal representative of a deceased or legally incapacitated employee or former employee (29 CFR 1904.35(b)(2)(ii)).

Regulatory history of 29 CFR 1904.35

1904.35 dates from the recordkeeping rule published January 19, 2001 (66 FR 5916). OSHA's May 12, 2016 rule (81 FR 29624) added the reasonableness language of (b)(1)(i), the right-to-report notice of (b)(1)(iii) and the prohibition of (b)(1)(iv), effective August 10, 2016. The section's source note lists later amendments of December 19, 2016 (81 FR 91810) and May 3, 2017 (82 FR 20549).

Related glossary terms

Key terms that appear in 29 CFR 1904.35, each with a full plain-English explainer.

OSHA 300 Log OSHA Form 301 Whistleblower Protection Recordable Injury

Related guides & articles

Who Can See Your OSHA 300 Log and Injury Records?Are Safety Incentive Programs Legal Under OSHA?The Four-Business-Hour Rule: Producing Your OSHA 300 Logs During an Inspection

Related OSHA standards

29 CFR 1910.1020

Exposure & Medical Records

29 CFR 1904.4

Recording Criteria

29 CFR 1904.5

Work-Relatedness

29 CFR 1904.7

General Recording Criteria

Primary sources

The texts quoted on this page were read on the eCFR (Title 29, current as of September 25, 2026) and the Federal Register (81 FR 29624), September 30, 2026. Penalty figures come from HazComFast's regulatory module (verified 2026-10-05 against eCFR, OSHA.gov, and the Federal Register).

This page is an educational summary, not legal advice. OSHA standards and penalty amounts change; confirm requirements against the current regulation and your applicable State-Plan before acting.

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