On March 31, 2026, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a memorandum updating its enforcement policy for COVID-19 recording and reporting obligations. Specifically, the agency announced that it is exercising its enforcement discretion to no longer cite employers for violations of 29 CFR 1904, in particular any employer’s failure to record COVID-19 cases or to report COVID-19 fatalities and hospitalizations. By doing so, OSHA aligns its COVID-19 enforcement policy with cases involving common colds and flu, which are both excepted from the Part 1904 recordkeeping obligations. While this will allow employers to scale back COVID-19 recordkeeping obligations without fear of OSHA citation, employers should nonetheless confirm they continue to meet any applicable record-retention obligations (such as California’s obligation to maintain existing records for two years).

This action follows OSHA’s previous proposal to remove its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (29 CFR 1910, Subpart U) in July 2025, 90 Fed. Reg. 28336, and its enforcement stay to not cite any employers for violations of the requirement to establish, maintain, and provide copies of COVID-19 logs, or to report COVID-19 fatalities and hospitalizations. This rulemaking has not yet been finalized, so employers should continue to monitor for any new developments from OSHA in this area.

The enforcement hold follows continued actions at the federal and state levels to fold COVID-19 obligations into more general infectious disease standards. Recently, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health allowed its COVID-19 recordkeeping obligations to sunset on February 3, 2026, meaning California workplaces no longer need to record and track all COVID-19 cases in the workplace (although existing records must still be kept for a period of two years from their creation date).

We will continue to track COVID-19 and other workplace respirable health developments at the Corporate Environmental Lawyer.