OSHA issues revised guidance for recording COVID-19 cases

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) recently issued revised enforcement guidance for recording COVID-19 cases, effectively rescinding the previous guidance memorandum of April 10, 2020.

What's changing

OSHA had previously required employers in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations, and correctional institutions to make individualized determinations about COVID-19's work-relatedness under the agency's general recording criteria. Other employers, however, were spared from strict compliance, essentially creating a presumption that coronavirus cases weren't work-related.

OSHA has now stated it will enforce the recording requirements for all employers. The agency continues to recognize, however, the difficulty employers will face in determining the work-relatedness of COVID-19 cases and will exercise discretion in assessing a company's efforts in making the determinations.

Factors to consider

According to the enforcement memorandum, safety and health compliance officers should consider the following matters when determining if an employer has reasonably investigated whether a COVID-19 case is work-related: