Common Respiratory Illnesses including Influenza, COVID-19, and RSV
Standards
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq. (the OSH Act), OSHA’s statutory mission is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance.
Employers covered by the OSH Act must comply with all applicable OSHA standards and regulations, whether they are issued and enforced by OSHA or by an OSHA-approved State Plan. In addition, under Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, known as the General Duty Clause, employers must provide their workers with a safe and healthful workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. Employers who are not covered by the OSH Act (e.g., self-employed workers and public sector employers in states without OSHA-approved State Plans) can use this guidance to identify useful infection control measures that help reduce the risk of contracting respiratory illnesses in their workplaces.
OSHA generally requires employers to maintain records of work-related illnesses and injuries; see 29 C.F.R Part 1904. However, under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.5(b)(2)(viii), the flu and the common cold are excepted from OSHA’s recordkeeping requirement. For more information, see OSHA’s interpretation of this standard: Clarification on the work-related exception in 1904.5(b)(2)(viii) for the common cold or flu. This recordkeeping exception does not apply to other respiratory illnesses. Additionally, it does not relieve employers of other OSH Act requirements, such as those under the General Duty Clause. For additional information on OSHA Recordkeeping concerning Covid-19 please see Deregulatory Rulemaking | Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In addition, one or more OSHA standards may apply to workers exposed to respiratory illnesses (see Table 1 below). OSHA may cite an employer under these standard(s) if the employer fails to protect its employees from infectious disease hazards addressed by the standard(s).
Table 1. OSHA standards that may apply to workers exposed to respiratory illnesses
General Industry (29 C.F.R. Part 1910) |
Related Information |
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1910 Subpart I - Personal Protective Equipment | ||
1910.132, General requirements. |
Related Information | |
1910.134, Respiratory protection. |
Related Information | |
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1910 Subpart J - General Environmental Controls | ||
1910.141, Sanitation. |
Related Information | |
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1910 Subpart Z - Toxic and Hazardous Substances | ||
1910.1020, Access to employee exposure and medical records. |
Related Information | |
1910.1030, Bloodborne pathogens. |
Related Information | |
1910.1200, Hazard Communication. |
Related Information | |
Construction (29 C.F.R. Part 1926) |
Related Information |
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1926 Subpart D - Occupational Health and Environmental Controls | ||
1926.51, Sanitation. |
Related Information | |
1926.59, Hazard Communication. |
Related Information | |
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1926 Subpart E - Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment | ||
1926.95, Criteria for personal protective equipment. |
Related Information | |
1926.103, Respiratory protection. |
Related Information | |
Federal Agencies (29 C.F.R. Part 1960) |
Related Information |
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**OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1030),which applies to occupational exposure to human blood and other potentially infectious materials, does not address occupational exposure to infectious agents transmitted via routes other than the bloodborne route. However, the standard offers a framework that may help control some sources of respiratory viruses, including exposures to body fluids (e.g., respiratory secretions) not covered by the standard.
Letters of Interpretation
The "Related Information" links in Table 1 lead to guidance letters that clarify the application of an established OSHA standard, policy, or procedure. The letters in this list provide additional information that is not necessarily connected to a specific OSHA standard highlighted on this Safety and Health Topics page.
- Voluntary use of respirators
- Voluntary use of surgical masks
- Facial hair under seal of tight-fitting respirator
- Numerous questions on filtering facepiece/dusk mask respirators
- OSHA's decision not to provide a religious exemption from the respirator standard.
- Respiratory protection medical evaluations: additional evaluations; use of employee's physician; testing; medical removal; and confidentiality
- Construction activities and operations and the Bloodborne Pathogens standard
- Maintenance of medical evaluation and fit test records as required by the Respiratory Protection Standard
- Standard interpretations regarding the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
- Clarification on the work-related exception in 1904.5(b)(2)(viii) for the common cold or flu
State Standards
- There are 29 OSHA-approved State Plans operating occupational safety and health programs. State Plans are required to have standards and enforcement programs that are at least as effective as OSHA's and may have different or more stringent requirements.
- The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has a standard specifically for diseases transmitted by aerosols, the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) standard, that is aimed at preventing worker illness from infectious diseases that can be transmitted by inhaling air that contains viruses, bacteria, or other disease-causing organisms in certain facilities and settings where the risk of disease transmission is high (homeless shelters, correctional facilities, and drug treatment programs). While the Cal/OSHA ATD standard only applies to certain employers in California, it may provide useful guidance for protecting workers in other settings who are exposed to respiratory illnesses.