Recording COVID exposure on your OSH Act log

March 2021 employment law letter

Authors:

Kelsey Heino, Goosmann Law Firm

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?

A Under current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance, employers are only responsible for recording cases of COVID-19 if all of the following are true:

It is a confirmed case of COVID-19;
It is work-related; and
It involves one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in the regulations (e.g., medical treatment beyond first aid, days away from work).

Based on the scenario presented in your question, you wouldn’t need to record the exposure on your OSH Act log because the employee didn’t contract COVID-19, despite having been exposed in the course and scope of employment.

Conversely, you would need to report the incident on your OSH Act log if the employee was diagnosed with COVID-19 and met any of the following recording criteria:

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