Coronavirus Resources for Employers

Chamber Members,

As the coronavirus has reached Kentucky, it is important that we are prepared to handle the issue. Follow this link to a page on our website to help educate employers on the coronavirus.

We are committed to heeding the guidance of public health officials and will continue to monitor the situation and assist businesses in being as prepared as possible to protect the health of their workers and the public.

Resources for Employers

Call the COVID-19 Hotline: 1-800-722-5725
Read the Kentucky Chamber’s joint statement with the Kentucky Travel Industry Association on the Coronavirus outbreak
Visit the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Coronavirus resource page
View the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage: Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019, February 2020
Sign up for CDC.gov email updates
View the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Coronavirus resource page and press statement by U.S. Chamber CEO Thomas Donohue
Visit the crisis management center on the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives website
Watch a webinar with discussion from Dr. Nancy Messonnier, who leads the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases — hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Visit Frost Brown Todd’s page: Coronavirus Guidance for Employers. Highlights from this page can also be found below.

How does Coronavirus spread?

Coronavirus generally spreads between people within 6 feet of each other through respiratory secretions, especially coughing and sneezing. It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

What can employers do now?

It is important for employers to maintain open lines of communication with their employees. To that end, employers should update contact information for employees if necessary and stay informed of the latest news. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also issued “Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease.” The CDC recommends that employers begin implementing the following steps now:

• Encourage employees with acute respiratory illnesses to stay home;
• Separate sick employees;
• Emphasize cough and sneeze etiquette and hand hygiene;
• Perform routine environmental cleaning;
• Advise employees about the risks prior to travel to countries that have had a significant outbreak; and
• Consider informing employees in the case of possible exposure in the workplace.

What plans should employers put in place?

The CDC also recommends that employers create response plans now in case an outbreak does occur in the United States. Employers should create response plans that would:

• Reduce transmission among staff;
• Protect people at higher risk for adverse health complications;
• Maintain business operations; and
• Minimize adverse effects on other entities in their supply chains.

Can your business allow short-term telecommuting? Flexible hours? The cancellation of some or all business travel? Fewer in-person meetings? There is no single answer to these questions for every business.

Can employers require employees to undergo medical examinations?

As noted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in its guidance, “Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” employers may not require medical examinations under the ADA unless the medical exam is job-related and consistent with business necessity. Whether a medical exam is job-related and consistent with business necessity depends upon the facts presented (e.g., what are the employee’s symptoms, where has the employee been, etc.) and the latest CDC guidance on coronavirus.

What actions can employers take in the case of a pandemic?

In the case of a pandemic, employers can send employees home if they show coronavirus-like symptoms at work. Furthermore, employers may ask employees if they are experiencing coronavirus-like symptoms as long as they are mindful of confidentiality obligations. Finally, if an employee returns from traveling during a pandemic, an employer may ask the employee whether they are returning from a location where that individual may have been exposed to the virus.

Obviously, this is an evolving issue. The businesses that plan for it will be in a better position to deal with it if it becomes a crisis in the United States.

For more information

For more information, please contact Erin Escoffery, David Skidmore, Jeff Lindemann or any attorney in Frost Brown Todd’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. The above information was used with permission from Frost Brown Todd Attorneys.