Days away from work calculator

Counting starts the day after the injury, every calendar day counts, and 180 is enough.

Count the days

Date of injury or onset of illness

First day back at work, or the day the count endsThe date a physician or other licensed health care professional says the employee can return, if the employee stays home longer.

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Worked examples

Injured	Back at work	Calendar days away	Enter in column (K)
Monday, March 3, 2025	Monday, March 10, 2025	6	6
Monday, March 3, 2025	Tuesday, March 4, 2025	0	0 (not a days-away case)
Monday, January 6, 2025	Monday, September 8, 2025	244	180 (capped)

In the first example the weekend of March 8 and 9 is counted, because the employee could not have worked on those days.

The rules, paragraph by paragraph

Question	What 29 CFR 1904.7 says	Paragraph of 1904.7
Is the day of the injury counted?	No. "you begin counting days away on the day after the injury occurred or the illness began."	(b)(3)(i)
A physician recommends days away but the employee comes to work.	Record the days recommended, whether or not the employee follows the recommendation.	(b)(3)(ii)
A physician recommends a return but the employee stays home.	End the count on the date the physician recommends the return.	(b)(3)(iii)
Weekends, holidays, days off.	Counted. "You must count the number of calendar days the employee was unable to work as a result of the injury or illness, regardless of whether or not the employee was scheduled to work on those day(s)."	(b)(3)(iv)
Injured on Friday, back on Monday, not scheduled for the weekend.	Recorded only if a physician or other licensed health care professional indicates the employee should not have worked, or should have done only restricted work, during the weekend.	(b)(3)(v)
Injured the day before a holiday, a planned vacation or a plant closing.	The same test: recorded only if a physician or other licensed health care professional indicates the employee should not have worked, or should have done only restricted work, during the time off.	(b)(3)(vi)
Is there a limit?	Yes, 180 calendar days. "entering 180 in the total days away column will be considered adequate."	(b)(3)(vii)
The employee retires or leaves.	Stop counting if the reason is unrelated to the injury. If the employee leaves because of the injury, estimate the total.	(b)(3)(viii)
The absence runs into the next year.	Record the case once, in the year of the injury. Estimate the days for the annual summary and update the log when the count is known or reaches the cap.	(b)(3)(ix)
Days of job transfer or restriction.	Counted the same way as days away, using (b)(3)(i) to (viii). The count may stop when a modified job is made permanent, with at least one day counted.	(b)(4)(xi)

In the ITA case file

CSV column	Rule
`incident_outcome`	2 for a case with days away from work.
`dafw_num_away`	The count from column (K). Greater than zero when the outcome is 2, and zero when the outcome is 3.
`djtr_num_tr`	The count from column (L). Not zero or blank when the outcome is 3.

More on the codes: incident_outcome and type_of_incident.

Have a whole log of day counts? The converter writes them into the ITA case file and flags an outcome that does not agree with its days.

Open the converter

Short answers

Do weekends count as days away from work on the OSHA 300 log?

Yes, when the employee could not have worked on them because of the injury or illness. 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(3)(iv) says to count calendar days whether or not the employee was scheduled to work.

Do you count the day of the injury?

No. Under 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(3)(i) counting begins on the day after the injury occurred or the illness began.

What is the maximum number of days away on the OSHA 300 log?

You may cap the count at 180 calendar days. The regulation says entering 180 in the total days away column is considered adequate.

Sources

Read on 2026-11-10. OSHA can change these documents; the link is the authority. Logmend is an independent information tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor, and it is not tax, legal or professional advice.