Can my boss make me come to the office? Can my boss tell me to cancel my vacation? Employees have questions about coronavirus at work. We have answers.
By Rachel Feintzeig and Chip Cutter March 12, 2020 8:22 pm ET The new coronavirus’s spread is taking the relationship between employers and their workers into new territory—one in which both sides are trying to sort out their rights and responsibilities in containing the outbreak.
In most workplaces, yes. Vacation time isn’t guaranteed under federal law, and most employers are within their rights to cancel a vacation and require workers to return to the job, says Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, a professor of labor and employment law at Indiana University Bloomington. The exception is if an employee is covered by a union contract or specific employment agreement that includes certain time-off protections, he says.
I feel totally fine and don’t think I’m at risk, but my boss is insisting I work from home. Do I have to? While your boss can ask you not to come into the office, they can’t bar you from going to other places or, say, hopping on the subway. That said, your employer can offer recommendations on how much to venture from home, says Heather Bussing, an employment lawyer in Sonoma County, Calif., with Rybicki & Associates PC.On the job My job requires me to have a lot of close contact with many customers.
It could also be a legal mistake, depending on the circumstances. Daniel Schwartz, a partner with law firm Shipman & Goodwin who mainly represents Connecticut employers, points to a case in Connecticut where the court indicated it could be illegal to require a worker to travel somewhere unsafe.
Generally, yes. Companies have an obligation to warn those who may have come in contact with someone diagnosed with Covid-19, says Ms. Cornell. Local health authorities may also want the public to know.
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