Responding to Positive COVID-19 Test Results in the Workplace
The immediate response
- Any employee exhibiting symptoms (fever, cough, short of breath, etc.) should notify their supervisor and stay home. If the employee begins exhibiting symptoms at work, they should be separated from other employees, customers, vendors and sent home.
- Sick employees should not return to work until all of the criteria to stop at home isolation have been met and they have conferred with their healthcare providers / local health departments. These include being fever free for 3 days (without medication to assist), improved respiratory symptoms, and at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared or 2 negative test results in a row, at least 24 hours apart.
- If an employee is well but has a sick family member, they should notify their supervisor and follow the CDC recommend precautions (limiting contact with sick member, wear a mask around sick person, disinfect home space often, and monitor their own health for symptoms).
- If an employee tests positive with COVID-19, immediately identify all co-workers the affected employee was within close contact with (within 6 feet of the infected employee for a prolonged period of time). You should inform all employees of their possible exposure. However, you must maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and not disclose any personally identifiable information of the employee testing positive. All employees should be instructed to self-monitor for symptoms.
- You should then identify where the infected employee worked, as well as any individuals, both inside the workplace and any work related individuals outside the building with whom the infected employee came into contact during the 14 days prior to testing positive or first displaying symptoms.
- You should notify also affected individuals and instruct anyone who came into contact with the sick employee within the 14 day period to go home and self-isolate for 14 days, working remotely if possible.
- If an exposed employee tests positive but has no symptoms, they may return to work after 10 days since the test provided they remain symptom free.
- Employees should not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation (see above) are met. Although critical infrastructure employees may continue to work, they must remain asymptomatic and additional precautions must be implemented.
- If you are an OSHA covered business, you must follow all current OSHA record keeping requirements and record certain work-related injuries and illnesses on your OSHA 300
Continuing Business
Based on the size of the workplace and the potential breadth of exposure, you should consider closing immediately, coordinating with employees to work remotely if possible. If closing is not an option, you should insure regular enhanced cleaning and disinfection of the facility, following CDC cleaning and disinfection recommendations. It is also critical to develop policies for worker protection and provide training to all cleaning staff on site prior to providing cleaning tasks. Training should include when to use personal protective equipment, what PPE is necessary, how to properly wear, use, and take off PPE, and how to properly dispose of PPE. Employers must ensure workers are trained on the hazards of the cleaning chemicals used in the workplace in accordance with appropriate OSHA standards.
If you are facing a positive COVID-19 test result or related issues in the workplace, please schedule an appointment with one of the attorneys at Waldron & Schneider to discuss these concerns.
The legal information in this blog entry is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Further, nothing contained in this article is intended to create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. This article and website are made available by Waldron & Schneider for educational purposes only and to give basic information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Waldron & Schneider. The article and website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state. For more information or questions you can contact us and one of our attorneys will be in touch soon.
Senior Associate Attorney Heather Benzenhoefer writes about trademark maintenance in her blog.
... See MoreSee Less

Trademark Maintenance - Waldron & Schneider
www.ws-law.com
Your company name can be essential to the success of your business. Similarly, a unique logo or clever slogan can set you apart from your competition.- Likes: 4
- Shares: 0
- Comments: 0
Partner Richard Simmons volunteered with Space Center Rotary and other local rotary clubs to package 10,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger. ... See MoreSee Less
Waldron & Schneider would like to congratulate Litigation Paralegal Maria Rosado and her husband PJ on the pending arrival of their new daughter, Nati. ... See MoreSee Less
Thank you so much!!! 💕💕💕💕
3rd year Law Clerk Collin Bullard writes about ensuring the safety of trust property transfers in his blog.
... See MoreSee Less

Ensuring the Safety of Trust Property Transfers - Waldron & Schneider
www.ws-law.com
Texas law prevents deeding property to a trust, and any such attempt will be found void. Contact us for more information.
Partner Vanessa J. Maduzia writes in her blog about what to do and how to protect oneself when the lottery is won.
... See MoreSee Less

I Won, What Do I Do Now? - Waldron & Schneider
www.ws-law.com
Defamation typically was pursued against mass media or at a much smaller lever – mouth to mouth or pen to letter.