LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) accepted and reported Covid as an occupational illness. In 2020, there were 60 such incidents that were documented, many of them from workers in the healthcare industry but the list also included corrections officers, supervisors, IT workers and others. In 2021, that number decreased to 20 and in 2022 it was four, two of which were corrections officers.

MORE NEWS: Ann Arbor Wants EV Truck That Ford Is Considering Cancelling

MIOSHA (Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is a department that works collaboratively with employers and employees to better prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities. Their mission is to help protect the safety and health of Michigan workers by setting and enforcing occupational safety and health standards providing extensive safety and health training and education and working with partners to develop innovative programs to prevent workplace hazards. All MIOSHA standards are administrative rules and have the effect of law under the authority of the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act.

MIOSHA has operated under LEO since 2019. Before that, it was housed within the Michigan Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affaire (LARA).

When we asked LEO why Covid deaths are still being reported to the state by employers, Beata Kica, Communications for LEO responded, “Under Rule 1139(1) of the MIOSHA Administrative Standards, Part 11, Recording and Reporting of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, employers must report a fatality to MIOSHA within eight hours after the death of an employee from a work-related incident.”

She continued, “This is a general, long-standing federal rule adopted by MIOSHA, and it has no expiration date. The regulation covers all types of work-related incidents – typically acute, traumatic injuries that result in death, but also infections that cause illness and subsequent death, such as from COVID-19. It is the employer’s responsibility to make the determination that the COVID-19 was acquired at work rather than in the community. MIOSHA reviews the employer’s rational behind the determination.”

The reported information reflects information provided to MIOSHA at the initial report of the incident and is not the result of the official MIOSHA investigation.

However, when we looked into the past and current records, there was no influenza or other viruses documented in their records from 2018 through present day. Reports in the years prior were not available on their website due to a website link error.

MORE NEWS: Illegal Alien With Michigan Commercial Drivers License Picked Up By ICE