The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has adopted revised policies for enforcing OSHA’s requirements regarding COVID-19 as economies reopen in states throughout the U.S., according to www.osha.gov.
OSHA has issued two revised enforcement policies to ensure employers are taking action to protect their employees.
First, OSHA is increasing in-person inspections at all types of workplaces. The new enforcement guidance reflects changing circumstances in which many noncritical businesses have begun to reopen in areas of lower community spread. The risk of transmission is lower in specific categories of workplaces, and personal protective equipment potentially needed for inspections is more widely available. OSHA staff will continue to prioritize COVID-19 inspections and use all enforcement tools as OSHA has historically done.
Second, OSHA is revising its previous enforcement policy for recording cases of COVID-19. Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is a recordable illness, and employers are responsible for recording cases 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.
