Recordkeeping (29 CFR Part 1904, all covered employers)

Determination of Work-Relatedness

Verified vs OSHA sources · 2026-10-05

29 CFR 1904.5

29 CFR 1904.5 defines when an injury or illness counts as work-related for OSHA recordkeeping. It is work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the condition, or significantly aggravated a pre-existing one. Work-relatedness is presumed for anything arising in the work environment unless one of the specific exceptions in §1904.5(b)(2) applies.

29 CFR 1904.5 at a glance

The rule: Work-related if a work-environment event caused, contributed to, or significantly aggravated it
The presumption: If it arose in the work environment, work-relatedness is presumed
The escape: Only the specific exceptions in §1904.5(b)(2) rebut it
Aggravation: Work need only "significantly aggravate" a pre-existing condition
Max penalty (2026): Other-than-serious $16,550; willful $165,514
The #1 confusion: "Pre-existing" does not mean "not work-related"

What 29 CFR 1904.5 requires (plain English)

29 CFR 1904.5 supplies the first prong of the recordability test in §1904.4, whether a case is work-related. The standard sets a broad "geographic presumption": an injury or illness is work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to it, or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness, and work-relatedness is presumed for conditions resulting from events or exposures in the work environment.

That presumption is rebutted only by the specific, closed list of exceptions in §1904.5(b)(2): for example, injuries at the workplace solely from eating or drinking one's own food, from personal grooming or self-medication, from voluntary participation in a wellness program, from a personal task outside working hours, or symptoms surfacing at work but resulting solely from a non-work event. If no listed exception fits, the case is work-related.

"Work environment" is defined broadly: the establishment and other locations where employees work as a condition of employment. Because the presumption favors recording and the exceptions are narrow and specific, most cases that occur at work are work-related, and employers must be able to point to a listed exception, not a general belief that a case was "personal."

The regulatory text

“You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in §1904.5(b)(2) specifically applies.”

29 CFR 1904.5(a)

Key facts about 29 CFR 1904.5

A case is work-related if a work-environment event caused, contributed to, or significantly aggravated it (1904.5(a)).
Work-relatedness is presumed for events and exposures in the work environment.
Only the specific exceptions in §1904.5(b)(2) rebut the presumption.
Work need only "significantly aggravate" a pre-existing condition, not cause it.
"Work environment" includes other locations where employees work as a condition of employment.
Pre-existing conditions can still yield recordable, work-related cases.
The employer bears the burden of showing a listed exception applies.

Scope: who 29 CFR 1904.5 applies to

Regulatory framework: Recordkeeping (29 CFR Part 1904, all covered employers)
Citation reference: 29 CFR 1904.5
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 1904.5

#	Employer obligation
1	Record injuries occurring in the work environment
2	Assess if a pre-existing condition was significantly aggravated by work
3	Apply geographic presumption for workplace events
4	Know exceptions (voluntary wellness programs, personal grooming, etc.)

Summarized from the text of 29 CFR 1904.5. Always read the full regulation for the binding language.

Common Work-Relatedness violations

Deficiencies OSHA cites under 29 CFR 1904.5 include the ones below, in no particular order. Distinct deficiencies can be cited as separate items, and each serious item carries up to $16,550 (2026). Broader per-instance stacking exists but is a discretionary, case-by-case OSHA enforcement policy, not an automatic multiplier.

Excluding a case as "personal/pre-existing" without a §1904.5(b)(2) exception (1904.5(b)(2)).
Ignoring the geographic presumption for events in the work environment (1904.5(a)).
Treating significant aggravation of a prior condition as non-recordable (1904.5(a)).
Misapplying the "solely from a non-work event" exception to partly-work cases (1904.5(b)(2)).
Recording or excluding travel and telework cases without the special rules (1904.5(b)(6)/(7)).

"Pre-existing" is not an exception: work only has to significantly aggravate the condition

A frequent mistake is to mark any case involving a prior condition as "not work-related." That is wrong. Under 1904.5, if a work event or exposure significantly aggravates a pre-existing injury or illness, the case is work-related and recordable: the worker did not have to be perfectly healthy first. "Significantly aggravated" has a specific meaning: the work event results in, for example, medical treatment, lost time, or restricted work that the underlying condition would not have required on its own. The only ways out are the specific exceptions in §1904.5(b)(2); "he had a bad back already" is not one of them.

What OSHA inspectors look for

A compliance officer checks whether the employer applied the geographic presumption correctly, recording cases that arose in the work environment, and whether any "not work-related" determinations rest on a real §1904.5(b)(2) exception rather than a judgment call. Improperly excluding cases as "personal" is a frequent finding.

Example: how a violation is cited

An employee's shoulder condition flares up after lifting boxes at work; the employer marks it "personal/pre-existing" and leaves it off the Log. Because the work event significantly aggravated the condition and no §1904.5(b)(2) exception applies, OSHA treats it as work-related and cites the omission, up to $16,550.

Illustrative example, not a specific OSHA case.

Work-Relatedness compliance checklist

Use this to evaluate your compliance with 29 CFR 1904.5. Each item is a key requirement OSHA may verify during an inspection.

Start from the presumption: a case arising in the work environment is work-related.
Record it unless a specific §1904.5(b)(2) exception clearly applies, and document which one.
For pre-existing conditions, ask whether work significantly aggravated them.
Apply the special rules for travel status and work at home carefully.
Do not use workers'-comp acceptance or "seems personal" as the test.
When genuinely unsure, err toward recording; the presumption favors it.

2026 penalties for 29 CFR 1904.5

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)

Improper work-relatedness calls surface in recordkeeping inspections and are usually cited as other-than-serious, up to $16,550 per case; willful patterns reach $165,514.

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 Work-Relatedness compliance

Work-relatedness is the most litigated recordkeeping decision because the presumption is broad: if it happened in the work environment, it is presumed work-related, and the burden is on the employer to fit a narrow exception. Getting this wrong in either direction distorts the Log, and because employers naturally want fewer recordables, OSHA scrutinizes "not work-related" calls closely.

Free compliance tools for 29 CFR 1904.5

OSHA Recordability Decision Tree OSHA 301 Incident Form Incident Cost Calculator

Work-Relatedness penalties by state

Penalties and enforcement vary by state. State-Plan states may impose higher penalties and additional requirements beyond federal 29 CFR 1904.5.

Alabama Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia

View all 50 states + DC →

Frequently asked questions about 29 CFR 1904.5

How does OSHA decide if an injury is work-related?

Under 1904.5, an injury or illness is work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment caused it, contributed to it, or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition. There is a presumption that anything arising in the work environment is work-related, and that presumption is overcome only if one of the specific exceptions in §1904.5(b)(2) applies.

Are pre-existing conditions ever recordable?

Yes. If a work event or exposure significantly aggravates a pre-existing injury or illness (for example, the worker now needs medical treatment beyond first aid, days away, or restricted work that the underlying condition alone would not have required) the case is work-related and recordable under 1904.5. A prior condition does not, by itself, make a case non-recordable.

What are the exceptions to work-relatedness?

Section 1904.5(b)(2) lists them, and the list is closed. They include injuries at work solely from eating or drinking your own food, from personal grooming or self-medication, from a personal task outside working hours, from voluntary wellness-program participation, from being a member of the general public rather than an employee, and symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a non-work event. If none fits, the case is work-related.

Is a slip in the company parking lot work-related?

Often yes. The 'work environment' can include areas like company parking lots and walkways when employees are there as a condition of employment, so the geographic presumption applies. Whether a particular parking-lot injury is recordable depends on the facts and whether any §1904.5(b)(2) exception applies, but it is not automatically 'personal' just because it happened outside the building.

Regulatory history of 29 CFR 1904.5

The current work-relatedness framework, the geographic presumption plus a closed list of exceptions, took effect January 1, 2002 as part of OSHA's recordkeeping overhaul (66 FR 5916). It deliberately made work-relatedness broad and the exceptions specific, so that recording decisions turn on defined rules rather than case-by-case judgments about whether an injury was "really" job-related.

Related glossary terms

Key terms that appear in 29 CFR 1904.5, each with a full plain-English explainer.

Recordable Injury Industrial Hygiene Job Hazard Analysis National Emphasis Program

Related guides & articles

OSHA Recordkeeping: When Is an Injury Recordable?OSHA Forms 300, 300A & 301 Recordkeeping Guide

Related OSHA standards

29 CFR 1910.1020

Exposure & Medical Records

29 CFR 1904.4

Recording Criteria

29 CFR 1904.7

General Recording Criteria

29 CFR 1904.29

OSHA Injury Forms

Primary sources

OSHA figures on this page are imported from HazComFast's verified 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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