Just about everyone wants to see life get back to normal–whatever that means. But, how do you do it safely? Some businesses are talking about doing antibody testing for Covid-19 to determine if people are safe to return to work.
Normally, medical tests (including taking workers’ temperatures) would be prohibited by law, but nothing is normal right now. The Americans with Disabilities Act allows only tests that are necessary and directly related to employment. One of those things that is directly related to employment is if an illness would cause a “direct threat” to others. And so that brings us to our current status.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said that Coronavirus is a direct threat, therefore the typical no medical exam rules fly out the window. They said:
To keep reading, click here: You Can Give Your Employee Antibody Tests, But You Shouldn’t
I agree that antibody tests should not be performed on employees. The current tests are not considered sufficiently reliable. Furthermore, no one knows whether the presence of antibodies — in fact — means that the person has developed immunity to COVID-19. To the contrary, there are anecdotal reports that some who formerly had the disease have suffered reoccurrences. We still have a lot more to learn about this coronavirus before we can safely rely on antibody tests in making employment decisions.
Whatever testing protocols put into place must also apply to workplace situations like retail places for scanning the customers entering the stores from now on. Any employers who don’t want to protect their employees deserve to close down completely. The grocer industry has responded to this need, however slowly, and so should all retail business. Office workplaces already have limited personnel and limited entry points to do this procedure correctly. These procedures need to be in place across all industries and should be a cost born by the business, not passed on to the employees directly. However, future raises may be effected for a temporary period until all business is back to a better money flow during the adjustment period. I am referring to those automatic raises that some places give. It will be a give and take situation for a while going back for all