OSHA Backtracks on Recordability of COVID-19

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not enforce recordkeeping requirements for COVID-19 in most industries located in places where there is ongoing community transmission, according to a memo released Friday.

This updated guidance will not apply to health care employers, emergency response organizations or correctional institutions, which are still required to make work-relatedness determinations of COVID-19 acquisitions. This announcement reverses previous guidance provided by the agency in March reminding employers that COVID-19 transmission in the workplace, unlike the flu or common cold, would be considered a recordable injury.