Section 296-27-05101. Definitions.

Amputation. 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 fingertip amputations 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 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.

(1) 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:

(a) Each of the establishments represents a distinctly separate business;

(b) Each business is engaged in a different economic activity;

(c) No one industry description in the North American Industrial Classification System applies to the joint activities of the establishments; and

(d) 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.

(2) You may combine two or more physical locations into a single establishment only when:

(a) You operate the locations as a single business operation under common management;

(b) The locations are all located in close proximity to each other; and

(c) 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.

(3) 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 telecommute 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 nonprescription strength (for medications available in both prescription and nonprescription form, a recommendation by a physician or other licensed health care professional to use a nonprescription 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-Aids™, gauze pads, etc., or using butterfly bandages or Steri-Strips™ (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 recordkeeping 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. 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).

[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, and 49.17.050. WSR 15-11-066, § 296-27-05101, filed 5/19/15, effective 7/1/15; WSR 02-01-064, § 296-27-05101, filed 12/14/01, effective 1/1/02.]

RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, and 49.17.050. WSR 15-11-066, § 296-27-05101, filed 5/19/15, effective 7/1/15; WSR 02-01-064, § 296-27-05101, filed 12/14/01, effective 1/1/02.

Rules

296-27-02101,296-27-031,