Complying with OSHA's COVID-19 reporting guidelines

Q One of our nursing home employees who was exposed to a COVID-19-positive resident just returned to work from a 14- day quarantine after testing negative. Do we have to record it in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) logs?

At the most basic level, the OSH Act requires you to keep records of all work-related injuries and illnesses. This record keeping requirement has remained in effect throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently operating under temporary guidelines while the pandemic continues. Currently, OSHA guidelines require recording only positive cases of COVID-19 contracted at work. As that isnt the case here, theres no requirement to disclose the exposure.

Had the employee tested positive, even under the additional factors, the temporary guidelines (which could be updated at any time) would require reporting the COVID-19 illness as being contracted at work. The extra factors have been developed due to the nature of the illness and the difficulty in determining, conclusively in most cases, whether transmission is truly work-related given that most individuals have the potential to be exposed both in and out of the workplace.

The interim guidelines do provide some latitude to update records, should additional information about contracting the illness surface later. Recording an occurrence of the illness doesnt of itself mean an employer has violated OSHA standards. The main concern continues to be that employers are responding appropriately under all circumstances to protect others.