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OSHA Issues Revised Coronavirus Policies
May 20, 2020The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has adopted two revised policies for enforcing its coronavirus requirements as economies reopen throughout the country.
First, OSHA is increasing in-person inspections at all types of workplaces. OSHA staff will continue to prioritize COVID-19 inspections and will utilize all enforcement tools as OSHA has historically done.
Second, OSHA is revising its previous enforcement policy for recording cases of coronavirus. Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, coronavirus is a recordable illness and employers are responsible for recording all cases if they are confirmed as a coronavirus illness, are work-related, and involve one or more of the general recording criteria, such as medical treatment beyond first aid or days away from work.
Employers with 10 or fewer employees and certain employers in low-hazard industries have no recording obligations. They need only report work-related coronavirus illnesses that result in a fatality or an employee’s in-patient hospitalization.