• • • • • It’s spread by droplets from coughing and sneezing, similar to the common cold.
        • It has an incubation period of two weeks.
        • It can live on surfaces for several days.
        • Older adults and those with chronic medical conditions are at a higher risk for severe illness.
        • There’s currently no effective treatment, only supportive care to help relieve symptoms.

Promote hand hygiene and proper respiratory etiquette. The best defense against contracting the coronavirus is to practice good personal hygiene. Consider posting or sharing handwashing how-to information and providing hand sanitizer in common areas.

Clean and disinfect more frequently. COVID-19 can live on hard surfaces for a few days so regular sanitizing and disinfecting is essential. Many employers have already taken steps to increase cleaning frequency and are providing wipes and cleaning supplies to employees to clean their work spaces.

Minimize crowd exposure. Lower the risk of your workforce contracting COVID-19 by limiting group meetings and postponing events whenever possible.

As much as possible, avoid all non-essential business travel for the time being.

On March 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of State advised U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19.

On March 17, 2020, based on CDC recommendations, Governor Ige directed people in Hawaii to avoid all non-essential travel, including inter-island travel, with those returning to go into self-isolation for 14 days.

The CDC also mandates all travelers who have been in any Level 3 country or on cruise ship travel to self-quarantine for 14 days upon returning.

Under OSHA regulations, employees have the right to refuse work that puts them at risk, including work-related travel, if it meets certain conditions.

Last updated 3/19/20

Communicating clearly and frequently with employees demonstrates your company’s commitment to safety.

In addition to the latest guidance on preventative measures, proactive information about scheduling, leave options, and quarantines can help alleviate uncertainty and stress.

Combat misinformation, fear-mongering and gossip—prevalent on social media and in company lunchrooms—by only sharing information from official sources.

Yes. Wherever possible, make flexible work arrangements to eliminate the possibility of transmission. This may mean shift work, reduced hours, remote work, telework, or other arrangements.

If your business operations allow for remote work, ensure employees have the right equipment, can access relevant emails, files, and software, and can participate in virtual meetings from home.

IT measures should be put into place to minimize security breaches.

Absolutely. As a precautionary measure, many Hawaii businesses and schools have already started asking people to notify them of any travel including interisland, mainland and international travel.

Take time to understand the risks associated with these locations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has three levels of Travel Advisory Notices:

• • • • • Warning Level 3 (Red): Avoid all non-essential travel to this destination.
        • Alert Level 2 (Yellow): Practice enhanced precautions for this destination.
        • Watch Level 1 (Green): Practice usual precautions for this destination.

For the latest information, monitor CDC coronavirus travel advisories.

Yes, employers are within their rights to require employees who have traveled to high-risk areas to stay home. As long as this policy is applied to all employees and doesn’t single out employees based on a protected characteristic, such as only requesting nationals from a specific country to stay home.

As of March 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of State advised U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19 and the CDC may require self-quarantine for 14 days after returning from a country with a Level 3 Travel Health Notice.

In case travel-related quarantine is federally or state-mandated, employees who aren’t able to telework may qualify for paid sick leave under the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act which goes into effect on or before April 2, 2020. FFCRA Summarized – PDF

Updated 3/20/2020

• • • • • If employees contract the coronavirus during the course of their employment, they may qualify for workers’ compensation.
        • If quarantine is mandated due to illness from personal travel, employees may qualify for sick leave and/or temporary disability insurance (TDI) benefits.
        • If employers require self-quarantine by employees who are asymptomatic and available to work, but have traveled to areas under a travel watch, they may be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Be sure to consult with your human resources advisors as you make quarantine-related employment decisions.

From an HR perspective, this depends on the employee’s status as exempt or non-exempt. It also depends on if the employee is medically required to stay home under a mandated quarantine, or if they are being asked to stay home and self-quarantine but are asymptomatic. This may determine the type of leave that can be used.

If it’s an hourly, non-exempt employee and they’ve exhausted their sick leave, if the employer doesn’t allow them to use vacation, they may need to go unpaid.

If the employee is salaried and exempt, depending on whether they’ve worked during the week, they may be entitled to an entire week’s worth of pay.

If an employee has vacation and/or sick leave on the books, a period of mandated or self-quarantine is a time when employers would want to allow them to use their time off.

Businesses should decide how flexible to be with leave policies, given the current situation.

Additional cases of the coronavirus will be confirmed in the community as testing becomes more widely available. More people will be called upon as caregivers to affected loved ones.

Now is a good time to review your leave policies regarding employee’s family members who are ill. If your company is a covered employer, employees may qualify for protected leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and/or the Hawaii Family Leave Law (HFLL).

Actively encourage sick people to stay home

Sick employees should be advised to stay at home. You may need to remind your managers to lead by example. If managers are regularly putting in long hours while completely under the weather, many staff will follow suit.

Among the CDC’s recommendations for employers, is the advice to not require a healthcare provider’s note for employees who are sick or trying to return to work, due to strain on the healthcare system.  Employers should review their current policies and determine their level of flexibility, while balancing the needs of their operations and well-being of their workplace.

Employers are within their rights to send employees showing signs of illness home.

Depending on that employee’s status as exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, that leave may be paid or unpaid.

Be aware that employees who have used up their paid time off or don’t have paid leave available may not want to take time off, especially if they are not experiencing severe symptoms.

Cases of coronavirus are likely to be confirmed in the community as testing becomes more widely available. More people will be called upon as caregivers to affected loved ones and many may qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and/or the Hawaii Family Leave Law (HFLL).

In the event that one of your employees is confirmed to have COVID-19 (or any other disability), keep in mind that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to:

• • • • • Treat this information as a confidential medical record.
        • Engage in an interactive process with them.
        • Provide reasonable accommodations.

Confidential medical information may only be shared in very limited circumstances. However, employers do have an obligation to inform other employees of their possible exposure so they can take proper measures.

To safeguard privacy:

• • • • • Be sure to exclude the affected employee’s name from all communication to other employees regarding the incident.
        • Don’t indicate that someone is out sick on a schedule that other employees can see. Simply note that they are out of the office or unavailable.

Yes, you can take the body temperature of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New EEOC guidance issued March 18, 2020 states:

“Generally, measuring an employee’s body temperature is a medical examination. Because the CDC and state/local health authorities have acknowledged community spread of COVID-19 and issued attendant precautions, employers may measure employees’ body temperature. However, employers should be aware that some people with COVID-19 do not have a fever.”

See also: EEOC: Employers Now May Take Employees’ Temperatures (SHRM)

If you are an employer with less than 500 employees, then yes, at least some portions of the new law will apply to your business.

This means you could be required to pay your employees Emergency Sick Leave or paid Family and Medical Leave related to time off directly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but you will also be eligible for an immediate payroll tax credit.

The bill was signed into law on March 18th and is expected to go into effect on April 1.  The Department of Labor issued guidance on March 24th and is expected to issue model notices and forms on March 25th.

See also:

• Paid Employee Leave and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
• IRS Releases Clarification on the Payroll Tax Credit

The terms furlough, layoff and reduction in force are similar, but each has a different outcome.

Furlough usually means a reduction in hours or taking a certain amount of unpaid time off. It may be required of all employees, or essential employees may be exempt. Furloughed employees can usually keep their medical benefits.

Layoffs happen when an employer separates and employee from payroll. This can be temporary or permanent. A laid-off employee’s medical benefits will usually end.

Reduction-in-force (RIF) occurs when an employer eliminates a position with no intention of replacing it in the near future. A layoff can eventually turn into a RIF. A RIFed employee’s medical benefits will end.

In all three cases, the employee can typically collect insurance benefits. A furloughed employee can usually collect partial unemployment, even if they’re still employed.

See also: Unemployment Insurance Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic

No. Employers may choose to keep employees on payroll (still employed), even if they temporarily won’t be working any hours.

These employees may still apply for unemployment benefits since they are experiencing a reduction in hours. In these cases, when the employee files their claim, they should report “Still employed, reduction of hours” as the reason why they are filing.  As long as they meet all other eligibility requirements they should be able to collect unemployment.

The State of Hawaii Unemployment Division will make the final decision regarding your employee’s eligibility.

See also: Unemployment Insurance Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic

Yes, you should be able to continue health insurance for your non-terminated employees during this temporary reduction of hours.

Under normal circumstances your health insurance carrier allows only eligible employees to remain enrolled in the plans, but during these unprecedented times, most health insurance carriers are offering flexibility and allowing employers to maintain coverage, as long as premiums continue to be paid.

We recommend you check with your carrier if you have additional questions.