But doing so could get an employer into legal trouble. Most importantly, employers have the ability to ensure that all employees are protected from the risk posed by the travel plans of other employees. Employers can also, Educate, educate, educate. Consistent with this, employers should implement health and safety measures recommended by public health officials and ensure that those protocols are applied equally to employees returning from personal travel. Employers should continue to consult the CDC's website: " Coronavirus Disease 2019 Information for Travel " for up-to-date travel notices concerning risk. These policies should guide an employer’s response to an employee diagnosed with, or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, and should include social distancing, enhanced sanitation and cleaning measures and require the use of personal protective equipment. If an employer reasonably believes an employee returning from a vacation is symptomatic or infected, the employer may require that the employee self-quarantine at home for 14 days. Nor could an employer prevent ⦠However, in other states, employers may prohibit employees from working a second job only if it affects the employeeâs job performance or creates a conflict with the employerâs business interests. You can find ⦠Written by Drew Gieseke Can Employers Limit Team Travel During the Pandemic? The last several months have presented incredibly difficult questions to employers. The ones you can ask keep your team safer while those you canât infringe on your workersâ rights. Can an employer require employees to stay home from work if they have been diagnosed with COVID-19, or directly exposed to an individual diagnosed with COVID-19? If the travel plans are for personal reasons, employers can't stop you from travelling nor sanction you for doing so, Alan Price, chief executive at HR software firm BrightHR, told The Sun. Remember that there are a number of questions that employers can and canât ask employees regarding the coronavirus. But just because the law may allow employers to prohibit or restrict employee personal travel and enforce travel restrictions under penalty of termination, there are both practical and legal considerations to consider before instituting such a policy. In some states, an employer might be able to institute a total ban on moonlighting. The extent to which existing policies permit the employer to prohibit personal travel that would delay an employeeâs return to on-site work or ⦠In addition, given the health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19, employers can require employees to stay home if they have been directly exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19. For example: Under such a law, the employer could not restrict its employees from engaging in otherwise legal activity such as personal travel to areas affected by COVID-19. By continuing to browse this website you accept the use of cookies. Can an employer inquire about an employeeâs personal travel plans? This return-to-work checklist provides helpful guidance for the various issues employers should consider before re-opening. Your team should know what needs to be done to prevent spread in the workplace, which includes the inherent risks from domestic travel. If an employee has traveled to an area not identified as high risk, the answer is maybe. However, if you can show that the employee's off ⦠In addition, multiple states have issued orders either recommending or requiring that individuals self-quarantine after returning from certain other states. This raises questions for companies regarding whether they canâor shouldârestrict employeesâ personal travel and what other steps companies may take to ensure a safe workplace during the pandemic. Nicole Anderson says employers can't restrict what employees do on their personal time. Some states prohibit employers from taking adverse action on the basis of an employee’s lawful activity that occurs away from the employer’s premises. An employer also can cite costs incurred by the employer following an employeeâs required 14-day quarantine following such travel. However, employers do have the ability to maintain safe workspaces when employees travel inside or outside the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers can require employees to report on personal travel and can require compliance with CDC travel restrictions. Kentucky has no such law preventing employers from regulating an employeeâs off-duty travel, but you should still exercise caution when contemplating such restrictions. The increased spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States presents employers with significant workplace challenges. Not always. Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and applicants for employment on the bases of, among other categories, race, color, religion, national origin, sex and sexual orientation. The language of these laws, however, can be broadly worded, such as in states like California, and could be interpreted to encompass personal travel. Guidance provided to em⦠The EEOC has advised that employers may take steps to determine âif employees entering the workplace have COVID-19 because an individual with the virus will pose a direct threat to the health of others,â including ⦠While it is impossible to eliminate all risk of COVID-19 entering a workspace, following the above guidelines will minimize the risk associated with employee travel. The sheer responsibility of running a business is stressful enough, but now employers are tasked with keeping their team safe during a pandemic. How do you manage remote work during a pandemic? Third, an employer should monitor employees upon their return for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Pre-Travel Inquiries. In New York, for example, employees can't be fired for consuming legal productsâsuch as tobacco and alcoholâoutside of work. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that, in this case, the employerâs monitoring was an unlawful violation of the employeeâs fundamental right to private and family life. A: Some states prohibit employers from taking adverse action against an employee for engaging in lawful off-duty conduct, such as traveling to another country. Although travel has steadily declined since Thanksgiving, some employees will again plan on traveling as the December holidays approach. Under “at-will” employment, an employee can be terminated for any reason — or no reason — so long as the employee’s conduct does not violate public policy or state law (such as engaging in illegal discrimination). And as offices reopen, you may wonder to yourself, What if an employee takes a trip to coronavirus hotspot? An employer should avoid any action that could result in a claim of discrimination under the applicable human rights legislation. Employers should consider, in conjunction with counsel, whether applicable law and their travel and PTO policies allow them to counsel employees ⦠points out that while employers are permitted to ask employees about their personal travel historyâincluding future plans to travelâthey must request this information from all teammates. As employees report to work, both employees and employers are concerned that employees who engage in personal travel to areas affected by COVID-19 may jeopardize the safety of the workplace.