OSHA Increases Inspections, Record-Keeping Requirements for COVID-19

OSHA has reversed course on an important aspect of COVID-19 and now labels COVID-19 as a recordable illness, if:

  1. The case is a confirmed case of COVID-19, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (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 notes that it can be difficult to determine if the illness is work-related, especially when an employee has experienced exposure inside and outside the workplace. Companies, though, must make a “reasonable effort” to make that determination. And companies with fewer than 10 employees do not have to abide by the record-keeping requirements.

More details and ISA’s guidance on completing the forms related to the record-keeping requirement can be found at www.signs.org/injury-recordkeeping.