ARTICLE
OSHA has issued interim guidance for enforcing OSHA's recordkeeping requirements as it relates to recording cases of COVID-19. 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 confirmed as a COVID-19 illness; Is work-related as defined by 29 CFR 1904.5; and Involves one or more of the general recording criteria in 29 CFR 1904.7, such as medical treatment beyond first aid or days away from work. In areas where there is ongoing community transmission, employers other than those in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations, and correctional institutions may have difficulty making determinations about whether workers who contracted COVID-19 did so due to exposures at work. Accordingly, until further notice, OSHA will not enforce its recordkeeping requirements to require these employers to make work-relatedness determinations for COVID-19 cases, except where: There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related; and The evidence was reasonably available to the employer. OSHA's enforcement policy will provide certainty to the regulated community and help employers focus their response efforts on implementing good hygiene practices in their workplaces and otherwise mitigating COVID-19's effects.