West Virginia — Workplace Safety

West Virginia does not operate an OSHA-approved state plan for private-sector workplaces. Federal OSHA administers and enforces workplace safety standards for most private employers in the state. Public employers (state agencies and their employees) are covered by the West Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Act, W. Va. Code § 21-3A-1 et seq., which is enforced by the West Virginia Division of Labor. The state statute applies federal OSHA standards as they existed on April 15, 1998, to public workplaces.

Source: OSHA State Plans; W. Va. Code § 21-3A-1; WV Division of Labor

Private employers in West Virginia are subject to federal OSHA's injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting requirements under 29 C.F.R. Part 1904, because the state does not operate an OSHA-approved state plan for private-sector workplaces.

Routine recordkeeping — OSHA 300 Log

Employers with more than 10 employees at any time during the preceding calendar year must maintain injury and illness records under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.1, unless the establishment is classified in a partially exempt low-hazard industry listed in Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 1904. Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year are exempt from routine recordkeeping, though not from the severe-injury reporting requirements described below.

Covered employers must record work-related injuries and illnesses on the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) if the injury or illness results in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. A work-related injury or illness is recordable if an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to the condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition. The employer must record the case on the OSHA 300 Log within seven calendar days of learning about it.

Employers must also complete an OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) for each recordable case, and must prepare an annual OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) by February 1 of the year following the calendar year covered by the forms. The Form 300A summary must be posted in a conspicuous location where notices to employees are customarily posted and must remain posted from February 1 through April 30. Records must be retained for five years.

Severe-injury reporting — immediate notification to OSHA

All employers covered by the OSH Act — including those exempt from routine recordkeeping due to size or industry classification — must report severe injuries and fatalities to OSHA under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39. The reporting deadlines are:

• Fatalities: within eight hours of learning that an employee died as a result of a work-related incident, if the death occurs within 30 days of the incident.
• In-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye: within 24 hours of learning of the event, if it occurs within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

"In-patient hospitalization" means a formal admission to the in-patient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment. Observation or diagnostic testing alone does not trigger the reporting requirement.

Employers may report by calling the nearest OSHA Area Office, calling OSHA's 24-hour hotline at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or using OSHA's online reporting form. The employer must provide the establishment name, location of the incident, time and date, number of employees affected, contact person, and a brief description of the incident.

Exceptions to severe-injury reporting

Employers are not required to report fatalities, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye if the incident occurred on a public street or highway (except in a construction work zone) or on a commercial or public transportation system (airplane, train, subway, bus). However, these events must still be recorded on the OSHA injury and illness records if the employer is otherwise required to keep such records.

Electronic submission for certain employers

Under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.41, establishments with 20 to 249 employees in designated high-hazard industries (listed in Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 1904) must electronically submit their Form 300A annual summary data to OSHA by March 2 each year. Establishments with 100 or more employees in designated industries (listed in Appendix B to Subpart E) must submit Form 300A, Form 300 Log data, and Form 301 incident report data. Submissions are made through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application (ITA) portal.

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 1904.1; 29 C.F.R. § 1904.4; 29 C.F.R. § 1904.7; 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39; 29 C.F.R. § 1904.41

West Virginia does not prescribe state-specific injury and illness recordkeeping forms for public employers covered by the West Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Act (WV OSH Act). Instead, public employers—including agencies, departments, municipalities, counties, public schools, and other political subdivisions—must follow the federal OSHA recordkeeping and reporting standards, as those existed on April 15, 1998.

Forms West Virginia regulation requires public employers to keep records "in accordance with the requirements of 29 CFR §§ 1900–1999" (the federal OSHA recordkeeping regulations). This means public employers must use OSHA Forms 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), 300A (Summary), and 301 (Incident Report) for workplace injury and illness recordkeeping. There are no West Virginia-specific forms.

Submission methods and deadlines Primary authority—both the enabling statute (W. Va. Code § 21-3A-8) and implementing rules (42 C.S.R. 15-5(e)-(f))—do not prescribe a separate, state-level electronic reporting system, mailing address, or unique posting deadlines. As such, public employers are expected to record, retain, and post OSHA logs as required by the federal rules, and make these records available to the WV Division of Labor upon request. Severe injuries and fatalities must be reported to the Commissioner within 8 hours, and mass casualty incidents (3+ hospitalized) also within 8 hours, mirroring federal OSHA's acute-reporting triggers. There is no state-mandated online submission portal; records are maintained at the workplace and provided to the Division of Labor upon inspection or request.

Retention and posting Public employers must retain injury and illness logs for five years and post summary data annually, matching the federal OSHA requirements as of 1998. Employers should check federal OSHA rules for the current summary posting period and retention timeline, as the State of West Virginia has not published a distinct timeframe.

Bottom line: West Virginia defaults to the federal OSHA procedures for public employer recordkeeping and reporting. Employers should use federal OSHA forms and deadlines unless or until the WV Division of Labor publishes more specific instructions.

Source: W. Va. Code § 21-3A-8 • WV State OSHA FAQ

OSHA requires all establishments with 250 or more employees that are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records (under 29 C.F.R. Part 1904) to electronically submit their Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) data annually. This rule applies regardless of industry classification—meaning the obligation is not limited to the "Appendix A" list of designated high-hazard industries. The designated industries in Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 1904 (which trigger a separate rule for establishments with 20–249 employees) do not affect the 250+ employee submission requirement.

Scope of the electronic submission requirement

• The requirement applies to each individual establishment (physical location), not the firm as a whole.
• If an establishment employed 250 or more employees at any time during the previous calendar year, and it is required by OSHA to keep injury and illness records (i.e., not fully exempted by size or by low-hazard industry status), it must submit Form 300A electronically to OSHA.
• There is no exemption based on NAICS code or industry risk for these larger establishments. The industry designations in Appendix A only apply to mid-sized (20–249 employee) establishments.
• The Form 300A data must be submitted by March 2 of the year following the year covered by the form (e.g., 2025 data due by March 2, 2026).

Employers submit data through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application (ITA) portal.

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 1904.41(a)(1)(ii) Source: OSHA official summary page — ITA FAQ

Under federal OSHA’s recordkeeping rule (29 C.F.R. § 1904.35), private employers in West Virginia must allow employees, former employees, their personal representatives, and authorized employee representatives (such as a designated collective-bargaining agent) to access OSHA injury-and-illness records. There are strict timelines for employer response:

OSHA 300 Log (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses): Upon request, the employer must provide a copy of the log covering the establishment where the requester works/worked by the end of the next business day. This applies to both current and stored logs. Privacy cases (certain sensitive injuries/illnesses under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.29(b)(6)) may be recorded without the employee's name, but otherwise, full entries must be provided.

OSHA 301 Incident Report (Injury and Illness Incident Report): Current or former employees, or their personal representatives, are entitled to a copy by the end of the next business day after the request. An authorized employee representative may receive only the "Tell us about the case" section for all 301s in the establishment; copies are due within 7 calendar days.

Charges: The first copy must be provided at no cost; employers may charge a reasonable amount for additional copies. The regulation does not further define "reasonable amount."

Because West Virginia does not operate an approved state OSHA plan for private employers, there is no separate state law imposing other access rights or deadlines beyond the federal floor.

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 1904.35