In some guidance released way back in May 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stated that employers must record confirmed, work-related cases of COVID-19 on OSHA Form 300, the form used to record workplace illnesses and injuries. As we move into the new year 2021 there still is no signs of this requirement going away
Under this guidance, an employer must log a worker’s case of COVID-19 if all of the following conditions are met:
- The illness is a confirmed case of COVID-19. POSITIVE TEST!
- The illness is work-related.
- The illness involved days away from work, restricted duties, transfer to another job, medical care beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, a healthcare provider’s diagnosis of a significant illness, or death.
For employers, determining whether a worker’s illness was “work-related” is likely to be a difficult task. Still, OSHA requires employers to make “reasonable efforts” to determine whether the illness was contracted at work. Please see guidance on how to determine work relatedness later in the document.
OSHA’s enforcement team will weigh the following considerations in determining whether the employer’s efforts were reasonable:
- The reasonableness of the employer’s investigation into work-relatedness. In most cases, this includes (1) asking the employee how they believe the contracted the disease; (2) discussing with the employee the work and out-of-work activities that could have led to the illness; and (3) reviewing the employee’s workplace environment to determine the risk of exposure.
- The evidence available to the employer. The work-relatedness assessment should be based on evidence reasonably available to the employer at the time it makes its decision. If new evidence comes to light, the employer must take it into account.
- The evidence that a COVID-19 illness was contracted at work.
To assess the likelihood that an illness OR covid-19was contracted at work, OSHA provides several rules of thumb for employers:
- COVID-19 illnesses are likely work-related when several cases develop among workers who work closely together and there is no alternative explanation.
- An employee’s COVID-19 illness is likely work-related if it is contracted shortly after lengthy, close exposure to a particular customer or coworker who has a confirmed case of COVID-19 and there is no alternative explanation.
- An employee’s COVID-19 illness is likely not work-related if she is the only worker to contract COVID-19 in her vicinity and her job duties do not include having frequent contact with the general public, regardless of the rate of community spread.
- An employee’s COVID-19 illness is likely work-related if his job duties include having frequent, close exposure to the general public in a locality with ongoing community transmission and there is no alternative explanation.
- An employee’s COVID-19 illness is likely not work-related if he, outside the workplace, closely and frequently associates with someone (for example, a family member, significant other, or close friend) who (1) has COVID-19; (2) is not a coworker, and (3) exposes the employee during the period in which the individual is likely infectious.
- OSHA enforcement officers should consider causation evidence pertaining to the employee illness provided by medical providers, public health authorities, or the employee.
If the employer still can’t determine, after a reasonable and good-faith effort, whether it’s more likely than not that a particular case of COVID-19 is work-related, it isn’t required to record the illness. Note that recording a COVID-19 illness (or any other illness or injury) on Form 300, by itself, doesn’t mean the employer has broken OSHA laws.
If you have additional questions please feel free to reach out to East Shore Safety or visit the OSHA website which provides some great info on their activities surrounding Coronavirus.
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov)