McCormick Quoted in National Jeweler Article Titled “What to Consider When Screening Employees for COVID-19”

Tom McCormick, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office, was featured in a National Jeweler article about things businesses need to consider before they reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The story states:

“McCormick outlined what employers can, and cannot, ask of employees when they return to the store following the shutdown.

According to McCormick, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say employers can:

- Take employees’ temperature at their place of work;

- Ask if they’ve been tested for COVID-19; and

- Do targeted screening of employees, but, McCormick cautioned, only if there is a credible belief based on objective evidence that they might have the coronavirus, like a hacking, persistent cough.

‘Otherwise, you should not be targeting any employees,’ he said, noting all EEOC guidance on workplace discrimination continues to apply.”

Employers cannot discriminate against employees based on age, race, sex, disability, etc.

McCormick said employers also can ask their employees if they’ve come in contact with anyone who has, or has had, COVID-19, but they cannot ask them specifically if family members have contracted or are exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.”

To read the entire story, visit the National Jeweler website.