Workers' Rights: What Your Boss Can and Can't Do During the Pandemic

This one is complicated, but generally, if your company says you have to return to the workplace, you have to go back if you want to keep the job. “Workers have a very limited right under the law to refuse work they consider to be hazardous to their health,” Berkowitz says.

There may be options, however, based on your circumstances. “At the federal level, and broadly speaking, I'm not aware of any protection that allows you to stay home with job protection or to collect pay simply because you are concerned about exposure to COVID-19 without sort of an underlying health condition,” Dinan says. “However, if you are immunocompromised or if you have a certain health condition that makes you more susceptible to serious complications, you may be entitled to continue teleworking as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act."

And under the recently passed Families First stimulus legislation, you may qualify for paid family medical leave or paid sick leave under certain conditions related directly to the coronavirus pandemic.

Wearing a face mask is really uncomfortable for me. Can my company make me do it?

Yes. During the pandemic your organization can require you to wear a mask, gloves or other personal protective equipment (PPE) if management considers it necessary. “In the absence of a medical condition or religious objection, which can be accommodated with alternative PPE, an employer can require the wearing of a face mask,” Rosenlieb says. If you have a disability that might make one of these requirements a problem — say, an allergy to latex, and the company offers only latex gloves — you may ask your employer to make reasonable accommodations.

Can my employer force me to stay home if I have symptoms of the coronavirus?

Yes, according to EEOC and CDC guidance. Protecting others in the workplace from potential exposure to the coronavirus takes precedence. “This is the same as is always the case,” says Rosenlieb. “If an employee presents with an illness that will impair performance or creates an imminent danger to other employees, the employee can be sent home."

If I call in sick or go home early because I'm not feeling well, how much can my boss ask me about my symptoms?

Outside of very limited circumstances, your employer cannot ask about symptoms or for a diagnosis, Rosenlieb says. The EEOC notes that your employer may only ask questions to determine if you may have symptoms associated with COVID-19; these include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath and sore throat.

I took some personal days to spend time with family who live near a coronavirus hot spot. Can my boss ask where I went?

Yes. If public health officials have recommended that people who visit certain locations remain at home for several days once they return, your employer can ask whether you are returning from those places, even if the travel was personal. Rosenlieb adds that people returning from foreign destinations also may be asked by the Department of Homeland Security where they went and they could be required to self-quarantine.

My boss wants to know if I have an underlying condition that may make me more vulnerable to COVID-19. Can she ask that?

The EEOC says she cannot. “It is up to the employee to disclose any underlying health conditions that will create an increased vulnerability to COVID-19,” Rosenlieb says. Protecting people with disabilities from unfair treatment due to their condition is the main goal of the ADA, so questions like these are generally a no-go.

When employees return to work after being sick with COVID-19, can my boss ask me for a doctor's note saying I'm safe to work?

Yes, the EEOC says. This request from your employer wouldn't necessarily violate the ADA.

Can my company require me to take a coronavirus test to be able to work?

According to EEOC guidelines, to deter COVID-19 from spreading in your workplace, your employer can require you take a test to check whether you currently have an active case of COVID-19 (i.e.  a viral test).

However, your employer cannot require you to take a test to determine whether you have antibodies for the coronavirus. The antibody tests determine whether you had COVID-19 in the past. The EEOC says the antibody tests would be a violation of the ADA because it would be a medical examination that is not “job related and consistent with business necessity.”

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on May 13, 2020, and has been updated with information about antibody testing.