OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses in Buffalo, New York (2026)
Your restaurant's annual OSHA posting can trigger a surprise inspection and fines if incomplete or missing. The OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses is a federally mandated annual report you must post in a common area from February 1 to April 30 each year. In Buffalo, this requirement is enforced by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also called the OSHA injury and illness log summary.
- 198 data fields — ApronPrep auto-fills 164 based on your previous year's data.
- $0–$0 government filing fees — there is no cost to file or post the form.
- Varies processing timeline — this is an internal posting requirement, not a submission to an agency.
Most applicants complete this in under 15 minutes with ApronPrep, which auto-fills 164 of 198 fields.
Analyzed from OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
83% from one compliance interview
Manual entry or document upload required
Why You Need a OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
The requirement to post and maintain the OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses is a direct federal mandate under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act). This law applies uniformly in Buffalo, as New York is a federal OSHA jurisdiction, enforced by the OSHA Buffalo Area Office. The form, often called the OSHA Log Summary, is not optional for most establishments with 10 or more employees in specific industries, including full-service restaurants. Its purpose is to create a transparent, annual record of workplace safety for employees and inspectors, demonstrating compliance with reporting standards under 29 CFR 1904.
Failing to complete, certify, and post the Form 300A from February 1 to April 30 each year triggers significant consequences. Penalties are not theoretical; they are levied per violation and can compound quickly, directly impacting your business's finances and operations. Key practical consequences include:
- Substantial fines: As cited in OSHA's 2024 penalty adjustments, serious violations for recordkeeping failures carry fines up to $16,131 per violation. Willful or repeat violations can reach $161,323.
- Increased scrutiny and shutdown risk: A missing Form 300A is a red flag during routine or complaint-driven inspections, often leading to a broader, more intensive audit of your safety practices and potential stop-work orders for uncorrected hazards.
- Insurance and legal vulnerability: Inaccurate or missing logs can jeopardize workers' compensation claims disputes, lead to higher insurance premiums, and weaken your defense in employee lawsuits related to workplace safety.
Legal code: Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act)
Recent update: For 2024, OSHA increased its maximum penalty amounts for violations by approximately 3.2%, and all covered employers must submit their Form 300A data electronically to OSHA's Injury Tracking Application (ITA) by March 2, 2025, for calendar year 2024 data.
Who Needs a OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses?
| Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant (Full-Service) | Required | Required, as restaurants employing 10 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year are covered by OSHA's recordkeeping rules (29 CFR 1904). |
| Bar / Nightclub | Required | Required if the establishment employed 10 or more employees; bars are not on the OSHA Partially Exempt Industry List (NAICS 722410). |
| Food Truck | Required | Required if the mobile food service operation employed 10 or more employees, as OSHA rules apply to mobile establishments in covered industries. |
| Coffee Shop / Café | Required | Required if the shop employed 10 or more employees; these establishments are classified under NAICS 722515 and are not exempt. |
See which restaurant types need this requirement — and which don't.
See Full Requirements →Field-by-Field Guide (198 Fields)
164 of 198 auto-filledTotal number of recordable injuries and illnesses
textEnter the total count of all recordable injuries and illnesses logged on your OSHA Form 300 for the calendar year, which includes cases involving days away from work, job transfer, restricted work, and other recordable incidents requiring medical treatment beyond first aid.
COMMON MISTAKE: Incorrectly counting first-aid-only incidents or non-work-related illnesses, which leads to an inflated total and a discrepancy during an OSHA inspection, potentially resulting in a citation for inaccurate recordkeeping.
Total hours worked by all employees (for total rate calculation)
textEnter the sum of all hours worked by all employees (full-time, part-time, temporary) at this establishment during the calendar year, including overtime, which is used as the denominator in the Total Recordable Case Rate (TRC) formula: (Number of injuries/illnesses * 200,000) / Hours Worked.
COMMON MISTAKE: Using payroll hours instead of actual hours worked, or omitting hours for temporary or part-time staff, which causes an incorrect rate calculation and is a common error flagged by OSHA for statistical inaccuracy.
Total recordable case incidence rate
textEnter the calculated Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate, which standardizes your injury/illness data to a common base (200,000 hours) to allow for comparison across industries and is derived from the figures entered in the two previous fields.
COMMON MISTAKE: Manual calculation errors or transposing digits from the calculation worksheet; the rate must match the result of the official OSHA formula using the exact numbers from your Form 300 and hours worked.
Number of DART cases (days away, restricted, or transferred)
textEnter the total number of cases from your OSHA Form 300 that resulted in days away from work (Column H), job transfer (Column I), or restricted work activity, which represents the more serious incidents for calculating the DART rate.
COMMON MISTAKE: Failing to sum cases from both Columns H and I, or including cases that only involved medical treatment without days away/restriction/transfer, which misrepresents the severity of incidents.
Total hours worked by all employees (for DART rate calculation)
textEnter the total hours worked by all employees for the year; this is the same figure used for the Total Recordable Case Rate calculation and must be identical in both places on the form for consistency.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering a different number here than in the 'Total hours worked' field for the TRC rate, creating an internal inconsistency on the form that OSHA reviewers will identify as an error.
DART incidence rate
textEnter the calculated Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) case rate, which focuses on more serious incidents and is calculated as: (Number of DART cases * 200,000) / Hours Worked.
COMMON MISTAKE: Using the wrong numerator (e.g., total injuries instead of DART cases) or a mismatched hours-worked figure, resulting in a rate that does not correspond to the data provided in the form's other sections.
Log Year
textEnter the four-digit calendar year (e.g., 2024) for which the injury and illness data on this summary form is being reported, which must match the year of the OSHA Form 300 log being summarized.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering the previous year out of habit when posting for the current year (e.g., posting the 2024 summary in 2025 but writing '2025'), which misaligns the data with the required reporting period.
Establishment Name
textEnter the official, complete business name for the specific restaurant location (establishment) where the recorded injuries and illnesses occurred, as it is registered for tax and legal purposes.
COMMON MISTAKE: Using a DBA ('Doing Business As') name that differs from the legal entity name on file with OSHA or using a corporate parent company name instead of the specific establishment's name.
City
textEnter the city where the establishment is physically located; this must be the city of the specific restaurant address, not a corporate headquarters or mailing address.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering the city of a central office or owner's residence instead of the actual worksite city, which can cause confusion during an OSHA inspection or data verification.
State
textEnter the two-letter postal abbreviation for the state (e.g., NY) where the establishment is physically located, corresponding to the city entered in the previous field.
COMMON MISTAKE: Using the full state name instead of the abbreviation, or abbreviating a state like California as 'CA' but writing 'Calif.', which deviates from the standard format expected on federal forms.
ApronPrep auto-fills 164 of 198 fields from a single compliance interview — no re-typing, no guessing what the government expects.
Top 5 OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses Mistakes
1. Posting the Form 300A for the Wrong Date Range
Posting the summary for the incorrect calendar year or forgetting to post it at all from February 1 to April 30. This violates OSHA's fixed annual posting requirement (29 CFR 1904.32) and can trigger fines. Double-check that the form you post covers the previous full calendar year (e.g., the 2025 form posted in 2026 summarizes data from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025).
2. Entering Incorrect Employee Average or Total Hours Worked
Miscalculating the total number of hours worked by all employees (full-time, part-time, temporary) in Column B. This figure is crucial for calculating accurate injury/illness incidence rates. Errors here invalidate the entire form's data. Use payroll records to sum all hours paid, including overtime and leave, for the entire year to ensure the calculation is correct.
3. Omitting Recordable Cases from the OSHA Form 300 Log
Failing to transfer all valid recordable cases from the detailed OSHA Form 300 Log to the summary Form 300A. Common omissions include needlestick injuries, hearing loss, or new cases of chronic illness. An incomplete summary is a citationable recordkeeping violation. Before completing the 300A, audit your Form 300 Log line-by-line to ensure every case marked as recordable is counted in the summary totals.
Skip the Paperwork on Your OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
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OSHA Form 300A - Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses by City in New York
| City | Fee Range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | ||
| New York City | ||
| Rochester |
Process & Timeline: Complying with OSHA Form 300A Posting Rules
Collect Injury & Illness Data for the Calendar Year
Gather all 2023 OSHA Form 300 logs (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) for your Buffalo establishment. Review each recordable case entered throughout the year to ensure accuracy. Common errors that trigger OSHA scrutiny include failing to record needlestick injuries or hearing loss cases, or misclassifying the severity of an incident. Have your payroll records on hand to confirm employee counts.
Complete OSHA Form 300A Summary
Transfer the annual totals from Form 300 to the corresponding fields on Form 300A. You must calculate and enter the correct number of hours worked by all employees for the year (typically found on payroll summaries) to determine the incident rates. Sign and certify the form; in New York, this must be done by a company executive, such as the owner or highest-ranking manager at your Buffalo location. Missing or incorrect annual hours data is a frequent cause of non-compliance.
Post the Form 300A Summary
Post the completed and certified OSHA Form 300A in a conspicuous location where all Buffalo employees can see it, such as an employee bulletin board or break room. Per federal OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1904.32, posting is required from February 1 through April 30 each year. You must keep the previous year’s form posted for the entire three-month period, even if you had no recordable incidents. Failure to post can result in citations during an OSHA inspection.
Other Requirements You'll Need
This is one of 13 requirements for opening a restaurant in New York.
ADA Compliance Self-Certification
federal
Alarm System Permit/Registration
local
Application for Employer Identification Number
federal
Articles of Organization (LLC) or Articles of Incorporation (Corporation)
state
See all co-required forms and how they connect to your compliance dossier.
See All RequirementsThere is no government processing timeline for OSHA Form 300A because it is not a permit you apply for or get approved. The form is a mandatory annual summary you must prepare and post internally. You must complete it by February 1st for the prior calendar year, and post it in a common area from February 1st to April 30th, as required by federal OSHA regulations 29 CFR 1904.32.
There are no government filing fees to complete and post OSHA Form 300A. The form is a free, mandatory workplace record-keeping document required by federal law. However, a safety inspection can trigger fees for violations; maintaining compliant records helps you avoid such penalties. Not legal advice — verify with Certificate of Inspection (Restaurant Safety) requirements.
No, OSHA Form 300A cannot be transferred. It is a site-specific annual summary of injuries and illnesses for a given establishment in a given year. If you move your restaurant, you must start a new OSHA Form 300 Log and generate a new 300A Summary for the new location for each calendar year, as per OSHA's recordkeeping rules. You'll also need to update your City Business License/Registration and other location-based permits.
You do not renew Form 300A. You must create a new summary annually. The process is: maintain the OSHA Form 300 Log daily, then compile the data into a fresh Form 300A summary by February 1st of the following year. Post it until April 30th. This annual cycle is a continuous federal requirement, similar in frequency to a Biennial Statement Filing with the state.
During an OSHA inspection, a compliance officer will request to see your OSHA Form 300 Log and the posted Form 300A Summary for the last five years. They will verify the data matches your injury records, check the posting dates and location, and ensure you've properly classified cases. Failure to produce these forms can result in citations and fines. The inspection is separate from a local Certificate of Inspection (Restaurant Safety), which focuses on physical premises.
About This Data
This guide is generated from ApronPrep's compliance dossier system, which uses 53 parallel AI authority experts to discover requirements, then downloads actual forms and generates field-level intelligence for each one.
For New York specifically, we have analyzed compliance dossiers for 3 cities (Buffalo, New York City, Rochester), generating Rich FILs (Form Intelligence Layers) with 198 form fields analyzed for this requirement. Fee data is sourced from actual county department fee schedules, not estimates.
Our data is verified against official government sources and updated when regulatory changes are detected. If you find an error, please report it — accuracy is our core commitment.
Sources
- Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act)
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