Am I required to self-report COVID-19 exposure, symptoms, or diagnosis? 

This depends on ever-changing CDC and state and local guidance. It is likely that an employer can require you to report your COVID-19 status, but cannot share your health information with others. 

Can my employer require me to not come into the workplace due to COVID-19? 

If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have a diagnosis, an employer can require you not to come into the workplace and request that you follow CDC guidance on quarantining. 

If I have to stay home because of COVID-19, will my employer still pay me? 

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which required certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19, expired on December 31, 2020. With that, employers are no longer required to provide employees with FFCRA leave, though they may do so voluntarily.

I don’t have COVID-19, but I am caring for someone who does and cannot go to work. What sick leave benefits am I entitled to? 

Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, certain employers were required to provide expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. But the FFCRA expired at the end of 2020. Currently, employees are not entitled to any specified sick leave benefits related to COVID-19.  

Is my employer required to tell me if I have been exposed to COVID-19 at the workplace? 

Your employer should inform you if you have been exposed to COVID-19, but should not reveal others’ personal health information. 

If I feel like I’m in an unsafe position at work, what can I do? 

Under OSHA guidance, you should bring the unsafe condition(s) to the attention of your employer. Additionally, OSHA provides information on workplace standards related to COVID-19 and has an online portal to file safety and health complaints. 

What can I do if I speak out about my working conditions and my employer cuts my hours or terminates my employment? 

There are various laws and authorities that protect whistleblowers from retaliation, including OSHA and the National Labor Relations Act. If you believe you have unfairly experienced workplace retaliation Fill out our employment questionnaire  

If the business I work at is ordered closed, can my employer lay me off, put me on furlough, or terminate my employment? 

Unfortunately, yes. 

Am I eligible for COVID-19 unemployment benefits? How do I get them? 

• The Missouri Department of Labor outlines who is eligible for COVID-19 unemployment benefits and how to file for them. 
• In Illinois, the Department of Employment Security accepts unemployment claims here. The state also has a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for those denied of the state’s unemployment benefits. 

How much are unemployment benefits? 

Unemployment benefits vary state-by-state. 

• In early January 2021, both the Missouri Department of Labor and the Illinois Department of Employment Security began processing $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplements. 
• In Missouri, weekly unemployment benefits can be up to $320. 
• In Illinois, weekly unemployment benefits can be up to $484. 

How long can I receive unemployment benefits? 

• In Missouri, unemployed workers can receive unemployment benefits for up to 33 weeks. For additional information about unemployment, visit Missouri Department of Labor’s FAQs. 
• In Illinois, unemployed workers can receive unemployment benefits for up to 39 weeks. More information about COVID-19 related unemployment issues can be found at Illinois Department of Employment Security FAQs. 

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On May 28, the EEOC issued updated guidance detailing that employers are indeed permitted to require workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Building off of previous guidance released in December, the EEOC now explains how employers should implement vaccine mandates, confirm employees’ vaccination, and set up vaccine clinics at the workplace. 

Though employers can mandate vaccinations for employees, there are exceptions, including disability and religious protections. But the employer may not inquire about an employee’s disability status as part of COVID-19 screening. And all medical information collected must remain confidential. 

Due to a disability, an employee may not receive the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer must first determine if an unvaccinated employee poses a “direct threat” to other employees. If a “direct threat” status is determined, an employer must seek out reasonable accommodations that can be provided for an unvaccinated employee, such as enforcing mask wearing and social distancing in the workplace. If such reasonable accommodations are not possible, then an employer must consider other avenues, such as allowing an employee to work from home, unless doing so would pose an unreasonable burden on the employer. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from mandatory vaccination due to religious beliefs. Similarly to disability exemptions, an employer would be expected to provide reasonable accommodations for an unvaccinated employee claiming religious beliefs prevent them from getting inoculated. The EEOC advises employers to believe employees claiming religious exemption. But, an employer can request information to support the claim if said employer has an “objective basis” that leads them to believe an employee is not telling the truth about their religious exemption.  

Regardless of the reason why an employee is requesting exemption, the EEOC says the employer should rely on the most up-to-date medical information and rates of infection before determining the “direct threat” they pose in the workplace. Importantly, the EEOC recommends employers consider “all the options” before denying an employee’s request for accommodation. 

Additionally, employers are now advised to provide accommodations to fully-vaccinated employees requesting accommodations due to vulnerabilities, such as being immunocompromised. 

The coronavirus pandemic, and its impact on employees, is complicated and ever changing. For more information about employment concerns related to COVID-19, visit our FAQs page. 

If you or someone you know has been a victim of COVID-19 employment issues, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim.

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Although it is unclear when students will return to school, the U.S. Department of Education clarified that most students with special needs should still receive special education and related services even while they are at home.

On March 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education issued a fact sheet providing guidance on the federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following are some of the major takeaways:

• If a school district continues to provide educational opportunities to the general student population during a school closure, such as providing online courses, the school must also ensure that students with disabilities also have equal access to the same opportunities, including the provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE).
• Schools also must ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, each student with a disability can be provided the special education and related services identified in the student’s individualized education program (IEP) developed under the IDEA, or a plan developed under Section 504.
• If a child does not receive services during a closure, a child’s IEP team (or appropriate personnel under Section 504) must make an individualized determination whether and to what extent compensatory services may be needed, consistent with applicable requirements, including to make up for any skills that may have been lost.
• If a child is infected with COVID-19, a school must provide special education and related services to the child while schools remain open.

Based on these guidelines, most children with special needs are still entitled to receive special education and related services – even during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Our firm expects many students who receive special education services will require compensatory services to remediate for the absence of services during school closings caused by COVID-19.  Parents who believe their child is not receiving appropriate services or believes their child needs additional, compensatory services after schools reopen should contact our firm.

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In order to be eligible for this program, one of multiple requirements is that “individuals must demonstrate that they are otherwise able to work and available for work within the meaning of applicable state law, except that they are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work because of COVID-19 related reasons.” For example, a typical question that is asked is “Can I quit my job to collect unemployment and the $600 weekly FPUC payment?” The answer to this question is simply put as no. Under Missouri unemployment law, most people who are currently employed and quit are not eligible for unemployment benefits. If an employer offers sick leave and/or other leave or remote work options to address COVID-19 in lieu of layoffs, then a person who quits on his/her own volition would not qualify for unemployment benefits. Another common question is if someone refuses to return to work, are they are still eligible for unemployment benefits? Except for certain circumstances, they will not. These certain circumstances are detailed here. 

Under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, eligible individuals who are collecting certain UI benefits, including regular unemployment compensation, will receive an additional $600 in federal benefits per week for weeks of unemployment ending on or before July 31, 2020. 

To read more on the CARES act new guidance, please visit: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20200402-0; 

For more information on UIPLs or previous guidance, please visit: wdr.doleta.gov/directives/. 

For more information on Coronavirus (COVID-19), please visit: https://labor.mo.gov/coronavirus 

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On March 18, 2020, the Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act). Under this Act, certain employers are required to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These provisions will apply from the effective date through December 31, 2020. The Act lays out that employees of covered employers are eligible for:  

• Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
• Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor; and
• Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. 

The federal guidance of the FFRCA Act further details who are “Covered Employers”, stating: The paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA apply to certain public employers, and private employers with fewer than 500 employees. It also states that Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide leave due to school closings or childcare unavailability if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern. Under this act, all employees of covered employers are eligible for two weeks of paid sick time for specified reasons related to COVID-19. 

Further, the guidance goes into deeper details of the qualifying reasons for leave, the duration of leave, and the calculation of pay. If you believe you qualify for paid leave under the FFRCA, contact Kennedy Hunt, P.C. today.  

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