The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released guidance regarding the employer’s obligation to record adverse reactions by employees when they received the COVID-19 vaccine. The guidance addresses the employer’s requirements if a mandatory vaccination policy has been implemented for the workplace. If the employer does require employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment, then any adverse reaction to the vaccine would be considered work related if the reaction meets the criteria for recordability for OSHA’s Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries, and Illnesses.
If a mandatory policy has been implemented, then any adverse reaction is recordable if it led to the employee missing more than one day work, medical attention beyond first aid is required, or the reaction resulted in restricted work or transfer to another job. OSHA has a very specific list of actions that it considers first aid so that list needs to be consulted in determining the recordability of an incident.