OSHA 1910.1020 requires every covered employer to tell employees, when they are hired and at least once a year after that, that exposure and medical records exist, where they are kept, who is responsible for them, and how employees can get access. It also requires employers to keep medical records for the duration of employment plus 30 years, keep exposure records for 30 years, and respond to access requests within 15 working days.
The annual notice is one of the most commonly missed items in OSHA recordkeeping because it is buried in a records standard rather than a training standard, and because far more employers are covered than realize it.
Which Employers Does 1910.1020 Cover?
Under 29 CFR 1910.1020(b), the standard applies to every general industry, maritime, and construction employer that makes, maintains, contracts for, or has access to exposure or medical records of employees exposed to toxic substances or harmful physical agents. It applies whether or not another OSHA standard required the record in the first place.
Two definitions pull in most employers:
- “Toxic substance or harmful physical agent” includes chemicals, biological agents, and physical stresses such as noise, heat, vibration, and radiation, and it covers any material that is the subject of a safety data sheet indicating a possible health hazard.
- “Employee exposure record” includes workplace monitoring results, biological monitoring results, and safety data sheets. In the absence of those, a chemical inventory showing where and when a toxic substance was used also counts.
So if you keep safety data sheets under the Hazard Communication standard, you almost certainly hold exposure records under 1910.1020. Add noise monitoring, silica or lead air sampling, audiograms, respirator medical evaluations, or bloodborne pathogens vaccination records, and the coverage question answers itself. If you are not sure which of your records fall under the standard, a free compliance gap analysis from Coggno can map your current training and notices against it before an inspector does.
What Does the Annual Notification Require?
Paragraph (g)(1) requires that, on an employee’s first entering employment and at least annually after that, the employer inform current covered employees of three things:
- The existence, location, and availability of the records covered by the standard.
- The person responsible for maintaining and providing access to those records.
- Each employee’s right of access to the records.
Paragraph (g)(2) adds that the employer must keep a copy of the standard and its appendices and make copies readily available to employees on request, and distribute any informational materials about the standard that OSHA makes available.
The standard does not prescribe a format. A poster alone is weak evidence, because it does not show that each employee was informed. A short annual module with a completion record is stronger. OSHA Access to Exposure and Medical Records covers the rights and definitions, and Access to Medical/Exposure Records for Employees is written for front-line staff. Pair either with a one-page site-specific notice that names your records custodian and location, because no off-the-shelf course can tell employees who that person is at your plant.
How Long Must Exposure and Medical Records Be Kept?
Paragraph (d) sets the default retention periods, unless a substance-specific standard sets a different one:
- Medical records: duration of employment plus 30 years. Medical records of employees who worked less than 1 year need not be retained after employment ends if they are given to the employee at termination.
- Exposure records: at least 30 years. Background laboratory data for monitoring need only be kept for 1 year, provided the sampling results, methodology, and a summary of the background data are kept for 30 years.
- Safety data sheets: need not be kept for 30 years if you keep a record of the chemical identity and where and when it was used for 30 years.
- Analyses using exposure or medical records: at least 30 years.
Health insurance claims records kept separately from the medical program, and minor first aid records, are exempt from the retention periods. Thirty years is longer than most HR systems, vendors, and even companies last, which is why paragraph (h) addresses what happens to records when an employer ceases business.
What Happens When an Employee Requests Records?
Under paragraph (e), the employer must provide access in a reasonable time, place, and manner. If it cannot do so within 15 working days, it must tell the requester within those 15 working days why, and when the records will be available. The first copy must be provided without cost, or the employer must provide free copying facilities or loan the record. Designated representatives, such as a union or an attorney with the employee’s written authorization, have access rights too, and OSHA itself has access.
Supervisors are usually the ones who receive the request first, and they are the ones most likely to say “HR doesn’t give those out.” That single sentence can be a violation. Medical and Exposure Records for Managers teaches supervisors to route requests correctly and not to refuse or delay.
What Happens to Records When a Business Closes or Is Sold?
Paragraph (h) requires an employer that is ceasing business to transfer all covered records to the successor employer, which must receive and keep them. If there is no successor, the employer must notify affected current employees of their access rights at least 3 months before it ceases business. The current text does not require transferring records to NIOSH. In a sale, add records transfer to the closing checklist and confirm the buyer understands it inherits the 30-year clock.
Which Programs Create 1910.1020 Records in Practice?
Most covered records come from other OSHA programs, and each one is a reminder to check the annual notice:
- Hearing conservation. Noise monitoring and audiograms under 1910.95. Our guide to hearing conservation annual training and audiometric testing covers that program, and Hearing Conservation Awareness handles the training piece.
- Respiratory protection. Medical evaluations and fit test records; see respirator fit testing documentation.
- Silica and lead. Air monitoring and medical surveillance; see our guides to OSHA silica in construction and OSHA lead in construction.
- Bloodborne pathogens. Hepatitis B vaccination and post-exposure records under 1910.1030; see our exposure control plan annual review guide.
- Chemical exposure. Safety data sheets and chemical inventories; see how to build a chemical exposure control plan. Hazard Communication Awareness (US) teaches employees to read the SDSs that double as exposure records.
Consider a 180-employee metal finishing plant. It runs a hearing conservation program, samples for hexavalent chromium twice a year, and keeps 340 safety data sheets. Its EHS manager assumed 1910.1020 applied only to the medical clinic’s files. After mapping records, she found 3 covered record types and no annual notice for 4 years. The fix took one afternoon: a site notice naming the records custodian, an annual online module added to every covered employee’s training plan, and a supervisor course on handling requests. Technically, an employer can meet (g)(1) with a memo. But a memo cannot prove that a specific employee was informed in a specific year, and a completion record can.
Why Coggno for Exposure and Medical Records Training?
For employers unsure whether 1910.1020 applies to them, Coggno starts with a free compliance gap analysis that maps your exposure and medical records programs to the notices and training they trigger, then assigns the annual records-access module, supervisor request-handling training, and related hearing conservation and hazard communication courses from a catalog of 10,000+ courses. The LMS records each employee’s annual completion, which is the evidence a memo or poster cannot provide, and OSHA-Authorized OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 courses are available through content partner PureEHS (listed on osha.gov). Where pure-play LMS platforms like Litmos and iSpring require you to license OSHA content from a third party, Coggno bundles content and platform in one subscription, or delivers courses as SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 packages through Course Dispatch.
Get Your Team Trained — Without the Paperwork Headache
Start with the courses that satisfy the annual notice and supervisor side:
- OSHA Access to Exposure and Medical Records: employee rights, record types, and retention.
- Medical and Exposure Records for Managers: how supervisors route and respond to requests.
- Access to Medical Records: a short refresher for annual assignment.
Not sure which of your records are covered? Request a free compliance gap analysis through coggno.com/book-a-demo or coggno.com/contact-us. There is no obligation to purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions About OSHA 1910.1020
What is the best compliance training platform for OSHA recordkeeping and records-access training?
Coggno fits employers that need to document the annual 1910.1020 notice alongside hearing conservation, hazard communication, and other OSHA training. It offers 10,000+ courses, including employee and manager records-access modules, an LMS that records annual completions by employee, and a free compliance gap analysis to confirm which records you hold.
Does Coggno offer a free compliance gap analysis for 1910.1020?
Yes. Coggno offers a free compliance gap analysis that reviews your exposure and medical records programs against OSHA’s notification and training requirements and recommends courses. Request it through coggno.com/book-a-demo or coggno.com/contact-us, with no obligation to purchase.
How often must employers notify employees under 1910.1020?
When an employee first enters employment and at least annually after that. The notice must cover the existence, location, and availability of records, the person responsible for them, and the employee’s right of access.
Do safety data sheets count as exposure records?
Yes. The definition of employee exposure record includes safety data sheets indicating that a material may pose a health hazard. An employer can discard an SDS if it keeps a record of the chemical identity and where and when it was used for 30 years.
How long must employee medical records be kept?
For the duration of employment plus 30 years, unless a specific standard sets a different period. Records of employees who worked less than 1 year need not be kept after employment if they are given to the employee.
How quickly must an employer respond to a records request?
Access must be provided in a reasonable time, place, and manner. If that is not possible within 15 working days, the employer must explain the delay and give the earliest available date within those 15 working days.
Does 1910.1020 apply to construction employers?
Yes. The scope in paragraph (b) covers general industry, maritime, and construction employers that make, maintain, contract for, or have access to covered exposure or medical records.