According to GMG EnviroSafe, shops are required to document any occupational injuries or illnesses throughout the year on OSHA’s Form 300.
OSHA recently issued an Enforcement Memorandum that announced COVID-19 is a recordable illness and employers are responsible for recording cases of COVID-19 based on the following:
- The employee’s illness has been confirmed as COVID-19
- The employee’s illness is work-related, which is defined as an event or exposure in the work environment that caused or contributed to the resulting illness.
- The employee’s illness is recordable, which is defined as involving medical treatment beyond first aid, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, loss of consciousness, or death.
Due to the nature of COVID-19 and community spread, OSHA will temporarily not enforce the OSHA 300 Recordkeeping requirements because of the difficulty in determining whether a COVID-19 illness is work-related. OSHA will enforce this requirement if any of the following conditions occur at the facility:
- There is objective evidence that COVID-19 may be work-related, such as a number of cases developing among employees that work closely together.
- This evidence is reasonably available to the employer, such as an employee provides notification of a COVID-19 diagnosis or symptoms.
If your facility determines a COVID-19 illness to be work-related, it would be coded as a respiratory illness on the Form 300. Employees may voluntarily request their name to be left off the log.
This enforcement policy will help facilities focus their response efforts on implementing good hygiene practices to prevent COVID-19 exposure.
For more information or to enroll in the free Coronavirus Prevention
training, email [email protected].
For more questions, call GMG EnviroSafe at (800) 619-9733.
