Two groups are partially exempt from keeping the OSHA 300 log, 301 reports, and 300A summary: companies that had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year (29 CFR 1904.1), and establishments in low-hazard industries on OSHA's exempt list (1904.2). Construction is not on that list. And "partially" matters: every employer, exempt or not, must still report fatalities and severe injuries to OSHA directly.
Exemption 1: company size
If your whole company had 10 or fewer employees at every point during the last calendar year, you don't have to keep the injury and illness records (1904.1(a)(1)). Three details decide close calls:
- It's the whole company, not the location. The count covers every employee across all your establishments combined (1904.1(b)(1)).
- It's peak headcount, not average. The test is whether you ever had 11 or more at any time last year (1904.1(b)(2)). A crew that staffed up to 12 for the summer push is over the line for the following year, even if it ran at 8 all winter.
- Last year controls this year. The exemption for the current year is based on last calendar year's employment.
Exemption 2: low-hazard industries
Establishments whose industry appears in Appendix A to Subpart B are exempt from routine recordkeeping regardless of size (1904.2). The list is by NAICS code and leans hard toward offices, stores, and services: legal offices, physicians' offices, restaurants, clothing stores, gas stations, schools, religious organizations, broadcasters, and the like.
Two things about this one:
- It's applied per establishment. A company can have one exempt location and one covered location (1904.2(b)(1)).
- Construction is not on the list. Neither is manufacturing or most trade work. If you build, roof, wire, plumb, frame, or excavate, this exemption isn't yours; your path out of recordkeeping is company size or nothing.
What "partially exempt" never covers
The exemptions remove the forms, not the phone calls. Every employer covered by the OSH Act, including the fully exempt ones, must report severe incidents to OSHA (1904.39):
- A work-related fatality: within 8 hours. Reportable if the death occurs within 30 days of the incident.
- An in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye: within 24 hours. Reportable if it occurs within 24 hours of the incident.
- Report to your nearest OSHA area office, by phone at 1-800-321-6742, or online at osha.gov/report.
Also, an exemption can be overridden on paper: if OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells you in writing to keep records for a survey or data collection, you keep them (1904.1(a)(1)).
So does your construction company keep records?
The short version for a trades contractor:
- 10 or fewer people all of last year: no log required this year. Still report severe incidents, and consider keeping a simple log anyway; general contractors ask for injury history on prequalification forms either way.
- Ever hit 11 or more last year: keep the 300, 301, and 300A this year, post the summary each February, and check whether the March 2 e-filing rule covers you at 20 or more employees.
One more wrinkle: if you operate in a state that runs its own OSHA program (a State Plan state), your recordkeeping obligations come through the state's rules, which must be substantially identical to the federal ones (1904.37). The forms and dates you'll deal with are the same.
Answer it for your company in two questions
SiteSafetyHQ's coverage check reads your headcount and industry and gives you a verdict with the exact rules cited: whether you keep records, whether you e-file, and which deadlines apply to each of your locations. It's part of the 14-day trial.
No card, no demo call. Flat $39 to $199/mo by company size.
Quick answers
We had 12 workers for two summer months, 8 the rest of the year. Exempt?
No. The size exemption requires 10 or fewer at all times during the last calendar year. Hitting 12 in July means keeping records the following year, even if the average was under 10.
Do part-timers and temps count toward the 10?
Count everyone employed by the company, at any location. And workers from a staffing agency whom you supervise day to day are recorded on your log when you're covered (1904.31), so a small payroll padded with supervised temps doesn't behave like a small company for recordkeeping purposes.
How do I check whether my industry is exempt?
Find your NAICS code (it's on your tax paperwork, or search census.gov/naics), then look for it in Appendix A to Subpart B. Not on the list means not exempt. Construction codes (236, 237, 238) are not on it.
If we're exempt, should we keep a log anyway?
Often yes. GCs and insurers ask for injury history and rates when you bid work, and a TRIR is hard to produce without case records. A voluntary log kept the OSHA way costs little and answers those questions cleanly.
Primary sources (checked August 4, 2026): 29 CFR 1904.1 (size exemption) · 29 CFR 1904.2 (industry exemption) · Appendix A to Subpart B (exempt industry list) · 29 CFR 1904.31 (covered employees) · 29 CFR 1904.39 (severe incident reporting)
SiteSafetyHQ is an independent product, not affiliated with OSHA. Workflow help, not legal advice.