OSHA Publishes Standard of Interpretation Determining Whether an Employee’s Death Would Be Work-Related When Involved in a Motor Vehicle Accident

On June 12, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a letter of interpretation determining if an employee’s death would be work-related when involved in a motor vehicle accident. The letter describes a scenario where an employee is travelling 300 miles for work to a customer site. In the scenario, the employee is involved in a fatal car accident on their return. Because the employee’s death occurred while the employee was in the process of travelling 300 miles “in the interest of the employer,” the employee’s death is work-related and must be recorded on the OSHA 300 log.

OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation 29 CFR § 1904.5(a) provides that an injury or illness must be considered work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Section 1904.5(b)(6) provides that injuries and illnesses that occur when an employee is on travel status are work-related if, at the time of the injury or illness, the employee was engaged in work activities “in the interest of the employer.”

The recordkeeping regulation includes two exceptions in which injuries or illnesses sustained by employees traveling in the interest of the employer are not considered work-related. First, section 1904.5(b)(6)(i) provides that, when an employee checks into a hotel, motel, or other temporary residence, the employee is considered to have established a “home away from home.” Second, section 1904.5(b)(6)(ii) provides that an injury or illness is not considered work-related if it occurs while the employee is on a personal detour from the route of business travel. Additionally, please note that OSHA has made it clear that injuries and illnesses that occur during an employee’s normal commute to and from work are not considered work-related, and, therefore not recordable.

The scenario in the letter does not meet any of the work-related exceptions. At the time of the fatal accident, the employee was still in the process of traveling home from a work assignment that was approximately 300 miles away. Unlike a normal commute, which typically involves one trip from home to work and from work to home each day, the travel conducted by the employee was outside the employee’s normal geographic area and required him to check into a hotel for several days. Also, at the time of the accident, the employee was not on a personal detour from the route of business travel and was not traveling to and from a hotel or motel to a permanent worksite. Instead, the employee had resumed his direct route of travel back to his home from the work assignment when the fatal accident occurred.

Source: OSHA, Standard Interpretation: Determining if an employee’s death would be work-related when involved in a motor vehicle accident (June 12, 2024). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-06-12