OSHA revised guidance for recording COVID-19 illnesses

On May 19, OSHA revised its April 10 interim guidance regarding the enforcement of the agency’s injuries and illness recording requirement of COVID-19 cases. The most notable revision is the elimination of enforcement discretion in areas where there is ongoing community transmission of COVID-19, and where the ability of employers in specific industries to determine work-related transmission is difficult.

OSHA expects all employers to investigate employee COVID-19 illnesses to determine whether the illness is likely work-related, based on information reasonably available to the employer. If, after a reasonable and good faith inquiry, the employer cannot determine whether it is more likely than not that exposure in the workplace played a causal role concerning a particular case of COVID-19, the employer does not need to record that COVID-19 illness.

Click here for a summary of the revised OSHA guidance.