Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-27 - Recordkeeping and reporting › Section 296-27-001 - Definitions. Amputation

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The traumatic loss of an appendage, such as an upper or lower
				limb (or part of the limb) or other external body part that has been severed or
				cut off either completely or partially at the time of the injury, or is
				surgically removed due to irreparable damage. Amputations may or may not
				include bone loss.
Note:
Amputations include fingertips and amputations of body
						parts that have since been reattached. Amputations do not include loss of an
						eye, broken or chipped teeth, scalpings, or avulsions, such as deglovings,
						where the skin and tissue have been torn away from the underlying subcutaneous
						tissue, tendons, muscle, or bone.
Authorized employee representative.
An authorized
				collective bargaining agent of employees.
Authorized government representative.
A
				representative of the Secretary of Labor, conducting an inspection or
				investigation under the act, a representative of the Secretary of Health and
				Human Services (including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
				Health (NIOSH)) conducting an investigation under section 20(b) of the act, or
				a division of occupational safety and health (DOSH) representative of the state
				department of labor and industries.
Department.
The Washington state department of
				labor and industries.
Employer.
A person, firm, corporation,
				partnership, business trust, legal representative, or other business entity
				which engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this state
				and employs one or more employees or who contracts with one or more persons,
				the essence of which is the personal labor of such person or persons and
				includes the state, counties, cities, and all municipal corporations, public
				corporations, political subdivisions of the state, and charitable
				organizations. Provided that any persons, partnership, or business entity not
				having employees, and who is covered by the Industrial Insurance Act, must be
				considered both an employer and employee.
Establishment.
A single physical location where
				business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.
				For activities where employees do not work at a single physical location, such
				as construction; transportation; communications, electric, gas and sanitary
				services; and similar operations, the establishment is represented by main or
				branch offices, terminals, stations, etc., that either supervise such
				activities or are the base from which personnel carry out these
				activities.
(a) Normally, one business location has only one establishment.
				Under limited conditions, the employer may consider two or more separate
				businesses that share a single location to be separate establishments. You may
				divide one location into two or more establishments only when:
(i) Each of the establishments represents a distinctly separate
				business;
(ii) Each business is engaged in a different economic
				activity;
(iii) No one industry description in the North American
				Industrial Classification System applies to the joint activities of the
				establishments; and
(iv) Separate reports are routinely prepared for each
				establishment on the number of employees, their wages and salaries, sales or
				receipts, and other business information. For example, if an employer operates
				a construction company at the same location as a lumber yard, the employer may
				consider each business to be a separate establishment.
(b) You may combine two or more physical locations into a
				single establishment only when:
(i) You operate the locations as a single business operation
				under common management;
(ii) The locations are all located in close proximity to each
				other; and
(iii) You keep one set of business records for the locations,
				such as records on the number of employees, their wages and salaries, sales or
				receipts, and other kinds of business information. For example, one
				manufacturing establishment might include the main plant, a warehouse a few
				blocks away, and an administrative services building across the street.
(c) For employees who telecommute from home, the employee's
				home is not a business establishment, and a separate OSHA 300 Log is not
				required. Employees who telecom-mute must be linked to one of your
				establishments under WAC
				296-27-02101(4).
First aid.
For the purpose of this chapter, first
				aid only includes the following:
(a) Using a nonprescription medication at nonprescrip-tion
				strength (for medications available in both prescription and nonprescription
				form, a recommendation by a physician or other licensed health care
				professional to use a nonpre-scription medication at prescription strength is
				considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes);
(b) Administering tetanus immunizations (other immunizations,
				such as Hepatitis B vaccine or rabies vaccine, are considered medical
				treatment);
(c) Cleaning, flushing, or soaking wounds on the surface of the
				skin;
(d) Using wound coverings such as bandages, Band-AidsT, gauze
				pads, etc., or using butterfly bandages or Steri-StripsT (other wound closing
				devices such as sutures, staples, etc., are considered medical
				treatment);
(e) Using hot or cold therapy;
(f) Using any nonrigid means of support, such as elastic
				bandages, wraps, nonrigid back belts, etc., (devices with rigid stays or other
				systems designed to immobilize parts of the body are considered medical
				treatment for recordkeeping purposes);
(g) Using temporary immobilization devices while transporting
				an accident victim (e.g., splints, slings, neck collars, back boards,
				etc.);
(h) Drilling of a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure, or
				draining fluid from a blister;
(i) Using eye patches;
(j) Removing foreign bodies from the eye using only irrigation
				or a cotton swab;
(k) Removing splinters or foreign material from areas other
				than the eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs, or other simple
				means;
(l) Using finger guards;
(m) Using massages (physical therapy or chiropractic treatment
				are considered medical treatment for recordkeep-ing purposes); or
(n) Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress.
Injury or illness.
An abnormal condition or
				disorder. Injuries include cases such as, but not limited to, a cut, fracture,
				sprain, or amputation. Illnesses include both acute and chronic illnesses, such
				as, but not limited to, a skin disease, respiratory disorder, or poisoning.
				Injuries and illness are recordable only if they are new, work-related cases
				that meet one or more of this section's recording criteria.
Inpatient hospitalization.
To be admitted into a
				hospital or equivalent facility for medical treatment.
Loss of an eye(s).
The physical removal of an eye
				occurring either at the time of injury or is surgically removed due to
				irreparable damage. The loss of sight without the removal is not reportable,
				unless the worker is admitted as an inpatient hospitalization after losing
				sight as a result of a worker-related incident, then it is reportable within
				the eight-hour time frame specified in WAC
				296-27-031(1).
Medical treatment.
The management and care of a
				patient to com-bat disease or disorder. For the purposes of this section,
				medical treatment does not include:
(a) Visits to a physician or other licensed health care
				professional solely for observation or counseling;
(b)The conduct of diagnostic procedures, such as X rays and
				blood tests, including the administration of prescription medications used
				solely for diagnostic purposes (e.g., eye drops to dilate pupils); or
(c) First aid (see definition of first aid).
OSHA.
Occupational Safety and Health
				Administration.
Other potentially infectious materials.
Includes
				all of the following:
(a) The following human body fluids: Semen, vaginal secretions,
				cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid,
				peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid
				that is visibly contaminated with blood, and all body fluids in situations
				where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body
				fluids;
(b)Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a
				human (living or dead);
(c)HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and
				HIV- or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or
				other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV; and
(d)Blood and tissues of experimental animals infected with
				bloodborne pathogens.
Personal representative.
Any person that the
				employee or former employee designates as such in writing, or the legal
				representative of a deceased or legally incapacitated employee or former
				employee.
Physician or other licensed health care
				professional.
A physician or other licensed health care professional whose
				legally permitted scope of practice (i.e., license, registration, or
				certification) allows them to independently perform, or be delegated the
				responsibility to perform, the activities described by this regulation.
Preexisting condition.
An injury or illness that
				resulted solely from a nonwork-related event or exposure.
Routine functions.
For recordkeeping purposes,
				routine functions are those work activities the employee regularly performs at
				least once per week.
WISHA (WISH Act).
The Washington Industrial Safety
				and Health Act.
Work environment.
The establishment and other
				locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition
				of their employment. The work environment includes not only physical locations,
				but also the equipment or materials used by the employee during the course of
				their work.
You.
An employer (see definition of
				employer).