A new policy brief from the United Nations projects that the COVID-19 pandemic will cost the tourism industry approximately $1 trillion in losses and threaten more than 100 million jobs worldwide.\u00a0 In additional to the dramatic fiscal impact facing the tourism industry, hospitality professionals are forced to comply with constantly evolving federal, state, and local regulations.<\/p>\n
The following are answers to five of the most asked questions from hospitality professionals.<\/p>\n
Can employees refuse to come to work if they are afraid of contracting COVID?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Federal, state, and local regulations require employers to use reasonable care to provide a suitable and safe place to work.\u00a0 Fear of contracting the virus \u2013 among healthy employees where the employer has followed all safe re-opening guidelines \u2013 generally is an insufficient reason for an employee to refuse to return to work.\u00a0 In most situations, an employer may treat an employee\u2019s refusal to return to work despite the employer\u2019s reasonable safety efforts as an unexcused absence.<\/p>\n If an employer encounters an employee who refuses to return to work, employers must carefully consider why the employee is refusing to return.\u00a0 If an employee identifies a legitimate safety concern, the employer should immediately work to address it.\u00a0 The employer should also consider whether the employee is entitled to an accommodation or protection under state or federal leave laws.\u00a0 Further, an employer should consult legal counsel before taking any adverse actions against an employee to evaluate the risk of a possible retaliation claim. Moreover, if the employee is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the employer should carefully review the agreement to determine whether any provisions limit an employer\u2019s ability to take action against the employee for refusing to return to work.<\/p>\n Finally, employers should ensure that their conduct and attendance policies address employees who unreasonably refuse to attend work, or travel for work, based on an unreasonable fear of contracting COVID-19.<\/p>\n Can an employee take leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (\u201cFFCRA\u201d) to assist their children with remote learning?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The FFCRA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take up to two weeks of Paid Sick Leave, and up to ten additional weeks of Expanded FMLA leave, when the employee is unable to work (including telework) due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.<\/p>\n Pursuant to the FFCRA regulations and previous guidance issued by the Department of Labor, if a child\u2019s school is physically open and the child is permitted by the school to attend in person, then any personal choice made by the child\u2019s parents to instead have the child participate in remote schooling, or \u201cdistance learning,\u201d does not provide a qualifying reason for an employee to take FFCRA leave.<\/p>\n If an employee requests FFCRA leave, you should ask follow-up questions as necessary (e.g., Is the child\u2019s school actually closed?\u00a0 Does the employee have a choice to send the child to school in person, but instead is exercising a choice to have the child engage in remote learning?).\u00a0 You should also require the employee to provide information and documentation to support their request for FFCRA leave.<\/p>\n Can I take the temperature of employees and guests?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Generally, yes.\u00a0 Businesses must balance the obligation to provide a safe workplace against obligations of medical privacy and confidentiality. Local regulations may also require businesses to conduct temperature screening of all employees and guests.<\/p>\n Medical information gathered about the health of an employee or guest must be kept confidential.\u00a0 Employees and guests should also be clearly notified in advance and should always be asked to give their expressed, voluntary consent to any health screening measures.\u00a0 Also, health screenings should be administered on all employees and guests to avoid any potential claim of discrimination.<\/p>\n What do I do if an employee tests positive for COVID?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, there are requirements in most countries to notify local authorities.<\/p>\n The employer should immediately ask the employee to leave the workplace (or ask them to stay home).\u00a0 The employee may be eligible for federal, state, or local sick leave benefits if they are unable to work due to contracting COVID-19.<\/p>\n The employer must then take additional steps such as:<\/p>\n In some cases, where a significant number of employees and guests contract the virus, the business may need to close for a short period of time to ensure proper sanitation measures are performed.<\/p>\n The employer should also notify employees that an unidentified employee or guest with whom they have had recent contact with has tested positive for COVID-19.\u00a0 The employer should also advise the employee to monitor the development of potential symptoms or obtain a test for the presence of COVID-19.\u00a0 \u00a0The identity of the person who has tested positive should not be disclosed unless required by law and must be kept confidential and only revealed to employees in the control group who need to know (e.g., Human Resources Manager or the Hotel\u2019s General Manager).<\/p>\n What do I do if an employee or guest is suspected of contracting COVID-19 but has not yet tested positive?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n This is possibly the most difficult scenario to navigate.\u00a0 When an employee or guest is suspected of having COVID-19 but has not yet tested positive, businesses must take all steps necessary to prevent the spread of the disease.\u00a0 On the other hand, businesses must ensure that they do not disclose an employee or guest\u2019s name and medical information to other staff members when there is insufficient reason to do so.\u00a0 This may cause unnecessary panic and anxiety for employees in the hotel.<\/p>\n In general, hotels should take the following steps when an employee or guest is suspected of having COVID-19:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new policy brief from the United Nations projects that the COVID-19 pandemic will cost the tourism industry approximately $1 trillion in losses and threaten more than 100 million jobs worldwide.\u00a0 In…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,261],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-8520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attorney-articles","category-recovery-resources","attorney-derek-w-paradis","practice-hospitality-retail"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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