Are Employers Responsible for Reporting COVID-19 Cases to OSHA?

Recordkeeping is the No. 1 reason why companies receive an OSHA fine or penalty, but even the most meticulous safety professionals can become overwhelmed by the paperwork and processes required by OSHA. Illnesses like COVID-19 can impact organizations, particularly if an employee contracts the virus while at work.

OSHA 29 CFR Part 1904 Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses is organized in subparts and provides information that employers need to include in their recordkeeping paperwork, as well as the forms needed to record any workplace injuries or illnesses.

Keep in mind that recording or reporting a work-related injury, illness or fatality does not mean that the employer or the employee was at fault, an OSHA rule has been violated, or the employee is eligible for workers compensation or other benefits.

 

Sign up for one of SkillPath's new five-day OSHA 30-Hour courses to learn more about OSHA Recordkeeping and Reporting.

 

How do you record and report COVID-19-related illnesses to OSHA?

Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is a recordable illness, and employers are responsible for recording cases of COVID-19, if:

• The case is a confirmed case of COVID-19, as defined by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• The case is work-related, as defined by 29 CFR 1904.5
• The case involves one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in 29 CFR 1904.7.

 

In areas with ongoing community transmission, employers outside of healthcare, emergency response and correctional institutions may have difficulty determining if workers who contracted COVID-19 became ill from exposures at work.

OSHA has provided guidance to compliance officers for recording occupational illnesses that specifically pertain to COVID-19. The guidance is intended to be time-limited to the current public health crisis and will remain in effect until further notice.

In its memorandum, OSHA reported it will require employers in healthcare, emergency response, and correctional institutions to make work-relatedness determinations for recordkeeping and reporting. However, until further notice, OSHA will not enforce 29 CFR 1904 to require other employers to make the same work-relatedness determinations, except where:

• 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
• The evidence was reasonably available to the employer, such as information given to the employer by employees and information that an employer learns regarding its employees’ health and safety in the ordinary course of managing its business and employees.

 

OSHA’s enforcement policy will help employers focus their response efforts on implementing good hygiene practices in their workplaces and mitigating COVID-19’s effects, rather than making difficult work-relatedness decisions on recordkeeping and reporting.

 

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Katie Parrish is the editorial director at SkillPath. As a former magazine editor, her focus is on timely events that impact today's business world. Connect with Katie on LinkedIn.