The April 3, 2019 letter addressed an employer that uses transient workers on project-based assignments lasting four days to two weeks. Between projects, workers go into inactive status without pay but remain employed — they can seek other work and collect unemployment benefits, and there is no guarantee of a future assignment. The employer asked how to count days away from work when an injury and a project's end overlap.
In the first scenario, a worker is injured August 14 and the physician recommends staying off work until August 22. The project ends August 15 for reasons unrelated to the injury, and the worker returns on a new project starting August 25. OSHA said the employer must 'continue to count the recommended number of calendar days until August 22.' The worker remained an employee throughout the inactive period since no termination occurred; because there was no separation — related to the injury or otherwise — section 1904.7(b)(3)(viii) (which governs the day count when an employee leaves the company) does not apply.
In the second scenario, the physician recommends staying off until August 27 — past the August 25 start of the new project — and the worker returns August 27. OSHA said counting continues through August 27. Sections 1904.7(b)(3)(ii) and (iii) require recording days away according to the healthcare provider's recommendation while the employment relationship persists.
Finally, OSHA said the analysis does not change if the transient workers receive 40 hours of weekly pay during inactive periods: they remain employees for recordkeeping purposes either way, and injuries must be recorded accordingly.