OSHA Lost Time Definition: Days Away vs Restricted Work

Safety leaders search OSHA lost time definition after a worker misses the next shift, a clinic note says "off work," or a dashboard still labels cases as LTIs. OSHA's 300 log does not use the phrase "lost time." The regulation records days away from work, restricted work, and job transfer as separate columns. Mixing those labels inflates rates, confuses DART math, and leaves supervisors arguing about a term OSHA never defined.

OSHA Lost Time Definition Versus Days Away From Work

OSHA's 1904.7 general recording criteria require employers to record a work-related injury or illness that results in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. Days away from work is the closest official concept to what many employers still call lost time.

A clinic visit alone does not make a case recordable. Diagnostic procedures such as X-rays, MRIs, and blood tests are not medical treatment by themselves. A case may still be recordable if days away, restricted work, job transfer, prescription-strength treatment, or a significant diagnosis applies. Employers remain responsible for final OSHA recordability determinations.

In plain employer language:

• "Lost time" in conversation usually means the worker did not work a later scheduled shift because of the injury.
• OSHA days away begin the day after the injury occurred or the illness began, not the day of the event.
• Restricted work or job transfer is recorded in a different 300 log column. It is not days away.
• Medical treatment beyond first aid can make a case recordable even when the worker never misses a shift.

IndustrialMD's OSHA 300 log recordkeeping guide can help teams map those columns before a rate meeting.

How to Count Days Away Without Inflating the Case

OSHA instructs employers to count calendar days, not scheduled workdays, once days away apply. If the worker is out for an extended period, enter an estimate and update the count when the actual number is known. Employers may cap the combined days-away and restricted/transfer count at 180 calendar days.

Common counting questions:

• Friday injury, Monday return: record days away or restricted work for the weekend only if a physician or other licensed health care professional indicates the employee should not have worked, or should have performed only restricted work, during that time off.
• The provider recommends days away but the employee comes to work anyway: OSHA still has the employer record the recommended days away.
• The provider releases the employee to work but the employee stays home: the days-away count generally ends on the date the provider recommended return.
• The employee leaves the company for a reason unrelated to the injury: the employer may stop counting. If the employee leaves because of the injury, OSHA expects an estimated remaining count.

These rules are easy to miss when a superintendent is trying to keep a tower crane moving. Name an OSHA recordkeeping owner who updates the log from written work status, not from the crew text thread.

Restricted Work Is Not Lost Time

Restricted work occurs when a work-related injury or illness keeps the employee from performing one or more routine job functions, or from working the full workday the employee would otherwise have worked. OSHA does not require recording of a restriction that applies only to the day of injury.

That distinction matters on construction, manufacturing, and warehouse floors. A millwright who cannot climb but can complete other routine tasks may be a restricted-work case, not a days-away case. A driver sent home until the next clinic visit may be days away. Calling both "lost time" hides whether modified duty is actually available.

IndustrialMD's return-to-work functional restrictions guide and modified duty examples for industrial employers can help supervisors convert clinic language into tasks before the next shift. Return-to-work programs give employers a place to park those assignments instead of defaulting to "just stay home."

Lost Time, DART, and Recordable Are Different Math Problems

Employers often use one spreadsheet column for every OSHA-flavored outcome. That produces three avoidable errors:

• A first-aid case with no days away is treated as lost time because the worker visited a clinic.
• A restricted-work case is omitted from DART because nobody coded days away.
• A days-away case is counted twice: once as LTI and once as recordable.

Keep the reviews separate. Recordability asks whether 1904.7 criteria are met. Days away ask how many calendar days the worker was away after the day of injury. Restricted work asks whether routine job functions were limited after that day. Reportability under 1904.39 is a different clock entirely, covered in IndustrialMD's OSHA recordable vs reportable employer guide.

OSHA recordkeeping support can help employers keep those fields from collapsing into one "OSHA" checkbox on the incident form.

What Supervisors Should Capture Before the Next Shift

Field notes should support the days-away decision without turning the foreman into the recordkeeper:

• Last time the worker performed full duty
• Written work status, including any "off work," "light duty," or "full duty" language
• Whether the restriction affects routine job functions or only the day of injury
• Who received the clinic note and when
• Whether modified duty was offered, accepted, or unavailable

Medical direction for industrial employers can help interpret vague clinic phrases such as "rest" or "avoid strenuous activity" against actual job demands. Workplace injury triage helps the first report include mechanism, body part, and destination of care before the days-away clock becomes an argument.

If modified duty exists and the provider allows it, document the assignment. If it does not exist, document that fact too. OSHA's restricted-work analysis depends on routine job functions, not on whether the company prefers to send people home.

A Practical Lost-Time Review Checklist

Use this sequence after any case that might become "lost time" in conversation:

1. Confirm work-relatedness under the employer's OSHA analysis.
2. Separate emergency care, clinic routing, and the 300 log review.
3. Read the work-status note for days away versus restriction versus full duty.
4. Count days away starting the day after the injury when that criterion applies.
5. Record restricted work only when routine job functions or the full workday are affected after the day of injury.
6. Update estimates, including any 180-day cap, when the actual count is known.

This can help employers document next steps and support review. It does not replace case-specific OSHA counsel.

If your team wants a cleaner days-away and modified-duty workflow, talk with IndustrialMD about OSHA lost time definition, medical direction, and return-to-work coordination.

Educational and Employer Responsibility Note

This resource is for general educational and informational purposes. It does not provide legal advice, medical advice, OSHA compliance counsel, or a substitute for case-specific review by qualified safety, legal, medical, or compliance professionals. Employers remain responsible for final OSHA recordability, OSHA reporting, workers' compensation, employment, and legal decisions.

FAQ

What is the OSHA lost time definition?

OSHA does not define "lost time" as a 300 log term. The closest official category is days away from work under 1904.7. Employers should record days away separately from restricted work, job transfer, and medical treatment beyond first aid.

Do I count the day of the injury as lost time?

OSHA's days-away count begins the day after the injury occurred or the illness began. The day of the event is not included in the days-away number, even if the worker left early.

Is restricted duty the same as lost time?

No. Restricted work or job transfer is recorded in a different OSHA 300 column. A worker who remains on site with limits that affect routine job functions may be a restricted-work case rather than a days-away case.

If a doctor takes the worker off over the weekend, does that count?

OSHA instructs employers to record weekend or scheduled-time-off days only when a physician or other licensed health care professional indicates the employee should not have worked, or should have performed only restricted work, during that period.

How can IndustrialMD help with days-away and lost-time coding?

IndustrialMD can help employers organize injury triage, work-status review, modified duty, and OSHA documentation so days away and restricted work are coded from clinical facts. Employers remain responsible for final OSHA recordability determinations.