What Business Owners Must Know To Weather The Coronavirus Storm BY JOEL J. GREENWALD, ESQ. It is hard to turn on the news without hearing about Coro- navirus. Many questions are being raised by employers on
should help you as business owners and managers weath- er this storm, but they are only general legal information: Q) No one in my business is sick, or aware they’ve been exposed. Is there anything I should be doing to help pre- vent my employees from getting sick? A) Yes. See this CDC link https://www.cdc.gov/corona- virus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/guidance-business-re- sponse.html . In short, encourage: (1) frequent, proper hand washing, (2) respiratory etiquette (sneeze/cough into tissue or elbow, not hand; properly dispose of tissues/ wash hands), (3) staying home when sick, and (4) work- place cleanliness. Q) Can I ask employees who appear sick at work if they have Coronavirus, or have been tested for it? A) You obviously will be looking for employees who ex- hibit symptoms that are concerning. Federal and state dis-
what to do. Should we send people home? If we do, must we pay them? What if the business suspends oper- ations? Do we have workers’ comp liability? The questions we’ve been getting are numerous, valid, and im- portant. We are providing here respons-
es to some Frequently Asked Questions our clients are posing. Please note, however, that situations vary, and the answers are often very fact specific. The following FAQs Joel J. Greenwald
ability discrimination laws have prohibitions against disability related inquiries, which may or may not be applicable depending on what you ask. The analysis could also change if you reasonably believe the con- dition/situation might endanger the health of others or should the World Health Orga- nization declare a pandemic. Even when employers can inquire, which may only be in specific circumstances, all medical in- formation must be kept confidential and only shared with those who have a need to know. Q) If an employee advises they are home sick with Coronavirus, will they be eligible for short-term disability benefits, or work- ers’ compensation benefits because they got sick at work? A) Maybe. It depends. Normal eligibility for short-term disability insurance ben- efits would apply (usually applying to non-work-related illnesses lasting longer than 7 days, unless hospitalized in which case it applies sooner). Workers’ compen- sation may apply if the illness is somehow related to the employment. For clarification of what applies in a specific situation, call your insurance provider. Q) Can the company have employees who are returning from an impacted area self-quarantine before returning to work? A) Based on the company’s obligations to maintain a safe workplace, including po- tentially under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)’s general duty clause, taking that precaution would be legally per-
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March 16, 2020
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