OSHA Enforcing Recording Cases & Response Plan for COVID-19

Taking place immediately, OSHA has announced an interim enforcement response plan for COVID-19 that gives instruction and guidance for OSHA Area Offices and compliance safety and health officers for handling complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports related to the coronavirus. OSHA’s response plan outlines flexible procedures for field offices to ensure the safety of workers, employers and inspectors while maximizing their impact including how to address reports of workplace hazards related to coronavirus, and sample documentation for coronavirus-related inspections.

OSHA also issued a memo Friday April 10 on Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus. Under OSHA recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is considered a recordable illness if (1) the case is a confirmed case of COVID-19 as defined by the CDC; (2) the case is work-related as defined by 29 CFR § 1904.5; and (3) the case involves one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in 29 CFR § 1904.7. OSHA will not enforce the general criteria to require employers who do not have workers in the healthcare industry, emergency response, or correctional institutions, to make the same work-related determinations, except where:

1. There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related. This could include, for example, a number of cases developing among workers who work closely together without an alternative explanation; and
2. The evidence was reasonably available to the employer. For purposes of this memorandum, examples of reasonably available evidence include information given to the employer by employees, as well as information that an employer learns regarding its employees’ health and safety in the ordinary course of managing its business and employees.

Any cases of COVID-19 should be recorded and coded as a respiratory illness on the OSHA Form 300.

For more information on OSHA recordkeeping and requirements, visit our website, or contact Steven Grubbs, Amanda Flanagan, Joe Garnett, or Alma Aguirre to discuss your matter.

Taking place immediately, OSHA has announced an interim enforcement response plan for COVID-19 that gives instruction and guidance for OSHA Area Offices and compliance safety and health officers for handling complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports related to the coronavirus. OSHA’s response plan outlines flexible procedures for field offices to ensure the safety of workers, employers and inspectors while maximizing their impact including how to address reports of workplace hazards related to coronavirus, and sample documentation for coronavirus-related inspections.

OSHA also issued a memo Friday April 10 on Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus. Under OSHA recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is considered a recordable illness if (1) the case is a confirmed case of COVID-19 as defined by the CDC; (2) the case is work-related as defined by 29 CFR § 1904.5; and (3) the case involves one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in 29 CFR § 1904.7. OSHA will not enforce the general criteria to require employers who do not have workers in the healthcare industry, emergency response, or correctional institutions, to make the same work-related determinations, except where:

1. There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related. This could include, for example, a number of cases developing among workers who work closely together without an alternative explanation; and
2. The evidence was reasonably available to the employer. For purposes of this memorandum, examples of reasonably available evidence include information given to the employer by employees, as well as information that an employer learns regarding its employees’ health and safety in the ordinary course of managing its business and employees.

Any cases of COVID-19 should be recorded and coded as a respiratory illness on the OSHA Form 300.

For more information on OSHA recordkeeping and requirements, visit our website, or contact Steven Grubbs, Amanda Flanagan, Joe Garnett, or Alma Aguirre to discuss your matter.