OSHA REVERSES COURSE ON RECORDING ADVERSE VACCINE REACTIONS

On April 20, 2021, OSHA provided guidance stating that if an employer requires a vaccination as a condition of employment, the employer must record an employee’s adverse reaction to the vaccination in their OSHA 300 workplace illness logs if the employee’s reaction is “a new case” and results in: (a) an absence from work of more than one day; (b) medical treatment beyond first aid; or (c) restricted work or transfer to another job.   OSHA has now updated its COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions and now states:

DOL and OSHA, as well as other federal agencies, are working diligently to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. OSHA does not wish to have any appearance of discouraging workers from receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and also does not wish to disincentivize employers’ vaccination efforts. As a result, OSHA will not enforce 29 CFR 1904’s recording requirements to require any employers to record worker side effects from COVID-19 vaccination through May 2022. We will reevaluate the agency’s position at that time to determine the best course of action moving forward.

At this time and into May of next year, employers do NOT need to record any adverse effects from the COVID-19 vaccine experienced by employees, regardless of whether the employer mandates or encourages the vaccine.

The updated FAQ can be found at https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/faqs#vaccine under the “Vaccine Related” tab.

Torrey J. Gerdes

Baylor Evnen, LLP

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