A law firm presented this scenario: an employer allows employees to volunteer for charitable events, such as Habitat for Humanity, without requiring participation, and volunteers are not penalized in pay for time away from the establishment. If an employee is injured off-site during that voluntary activity, is the case work-related for OSHA recordkeeping?
OSHA answered that injuries resulting from purely voluntary activities are 'generally not considered work-related' under its recordkeeping guidance, so an injury during purely voluntary charitable participation would not be recordable as work-related. The analysis runs through 29 CFR 1904.5: under 1904.5(a), work-relatedness requires an event or exposure in the work environment that caused, contributed to, or significantly aggravated the condition, unless an exception applies; under 1904.5(b)(1), the 'work environment' covers the establishment and other locations where employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment.
For off-site incidents specifically, 29 CFR 1904.5(b)(6) makes work-relatedness depend on whether the employee's activities occurred 'in the interest of the employer.' That is the hinge point safety managers should watch: OSHA clarified that the same charitable activity becomes work-related if participation is mandatory or employer-directed. Truly optional, unpenalized volunteering stays off the OSHA 300 log; required attendance at the company's charity build does not.