Owners, Partners, and OSHA Logs: Who Counts as an Employee?
Owners and partners of sole proprietorships or partnerships aren't employees for OSHA logs; corporate officers who are employees are.
Quick answer
Owners and partners of sole proprietorships or partnerships aren't employees for OSHA logs; corporate officers who are employees are. Everyone else on the payroll is covered, including family members who are paid employees.
Small companies often ask whether owner injuries belong on the OSHA log.
The rule in plain English
You record the injuries and illnesses of everyone on your payroll: labor, executive, hourly, salaried, part-time, seasonal, and migrant workers (29 CFR 1904.31). You also record cases for workers who are not on your payroll if you supervise them day to day, such as temporary or leased workers; if a contractor supervises its own people day to day, the contractor records. Each case is recorded once, by the employer that provides day-to-day supervision. Self-employed people are not covered, and owners or partners of a sole proprietorship or partnership are not employees for recordkeeping purposes.
What this looks like in practice
Confirm whether the person is an employee for OSHA recordkeeping purposes before logging. Cases slip through when the host site and the staffing agency each assume the other will log them, and get counted twice when both do. The fix is to decide supervision at the start of each engagement, put it in writing, and agree how incident details reach the employer that records.
For an owner, the goal is to know which rules apply to your business and set up a simple routine, without buying more process than you need.
The mistake to avoid
Teams assume every worker on site is covered the same way.
Whoever records the case also counts it in their 300A totals and rates, and supervised workers' hours belong in that employer's hours worked.
Edge cases worth checking
- Corporate officers, partners, and sole proprietors can require different analysis.
- Supervised temporary workers belong in the host's hours worked as well as its log, which affects the rates.
Example
In a two-partner landscaping partnership, a partner's back injury is not recorded. In a landscaping corporation owned by the same two people, both are corporate officers on the payroll, so their injuries are recorded like anyone else's.
Step by step
- Identify the business structure.
- Classify each person: owner, partner, officer, or employee.
- Record the basis.
- Log cases only for covered employees.
What to keep in the case file:
- Who directs the worker's tasks, schedule, and methods each day
- The staffing or contractor agreement and what it says about recordkeeping
- Notes from coordination with the other employer about who records the case
- Whether the worker's hours are included in your hours-worked total
Where 300log helps
300log records each case against an establishment, so once you have decided that a supervised temp or leased worker's case belongs on your log, it lands on the right establishment's log and in its 300A totals.
For a quick answer without an account, use the free ITA coverage checker.
Frequently asked questions
Owners, Partners, and OSHA Logs: Who Counts as an Employee?
Owners and partners of sole proprietorships or partnerships aren't employees for OSHA logs; corporate officers who are employees are. Everyone else on the payroll is covered, including family members who are paid employees.
Do owners go on the OSHA log?
Owners and partners of a sole proprietorship or partnership are not employees for recordkeeping. Corporate officers who are employees are covered.
Are volunteers covered?
Part 1904 covers employees. A true volunteer who receives no compensation is generally not an employee, but stipends and employer control can change that, so document the relationship.
Do we record injuries to self-employed contractors?
No. Self-employed individuals are not covered by the OSH Act or Part 1904.
Sources
Primary regulation and agency guidance this article relies on.
- [1]29 CFR 1904.31: Covered employeesOccupational Safety and Health Administration · osha.gov(opens in a new tab)
- [2]29 CFR 1904.1: Partial exemption for employers with 10 or fewer employeesOccupational Safety and Health Administration · osha.gov(opens in a new tab)
- [3]29 CFR 1904.29: OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301Occupational Safety and Health Administration · osha.gov(opens in a new tab)
Written and reviewed by the 300log Editorial Team. Guidance, not legal advice: confirm edge cases with OSHA or counsel.