Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

As businesses begin to reopen across the country, employers are now faced with the real possibility that one or more of their employees may be diagnosed with COVID-19. Those who are familiar with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recording requirements may be wondering how to handle an employee COVID-19 case on their OSHA logs.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (better known as Cal/OSHA) has released information for employers on the subject and it appears they are using their existing criteria for determining the recordability of an employee COVID-19 case.

According to Cal/OSHA, “California employers that are required to record work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses must record a work-related COVID-19 fatality or illness like any other illness.” To be recordable on the 300, 300A and 301 forms, the COVID-19 case must be work-related and result in one of the following:

• Death.

• Days away from work or transfer to another job.

• Medical treatment beyond first aid.

• Loss of consciousness.

• A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

The criteria that most employers may have a hard time determining is if the COVID-19 illness is actually work-related. Cal/OSHA addresses this in its Frequently Asked Questions webpage. First, the employer must determine if there was “an event or exposure in the work environment [that] either caused or contributed to” the COVID-19 case.

In order to determine if a case is work-related, employers should consider factors like:

• The type and duration of contact the employee had at work with other people including co-workers and the general public.

• With the implementation of physical distancing and other controls within the workplace, what is the likelihood of exposure?

• Did the employee come in contact with anyone showing signs and symptoms of COVID-19, while working? 

These considerations will help an employer determine whether or not the COVID-19 case is work-related and thus recordable. According to Cal/OSHA, it is best practices to err on the side of recordability when in doubt about how an employee was exposed to COVID-19.

If it is determined that an employee’s illness was work-related, yet, for a variety of reasons testing or the results from a test is unavailable and the employee has been determined to have COVID-19, “an employer must make a recordability determination” as to whether or not to record the case. While a positive COVID-19 test result would trigger recordability by the employer, a positive test is not always necessary to record the case in the OSHA logs.

Keep in mind, the above information is for OSHA recording of work-related COVID-19 cases only, which may be different from guidance for workers’ compensation claims.

Cal/OSHA states that “Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-62-20 addresses eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits... The Order does not alter employers’ reporting and recording obligations under Cal/OSHA regulations.”

Rancho Mesa’s Risk Management Center offers employers the ability to track their COVID-19 cases electronically and generate the applicable OSHA 300, 300A and 301 forms along with an incident report and First Report of Jury (Form 5020).

To learn more about the Risk Management Center, contact our Clients Services Department at (619) 438-6869.