On March 18th, during the Governor’s daily afternoon briefing, he requested businesses to begin taking temperatures of employees. This was followed up in a tweet issued by the Governor’s office later that afternoon:
We are asking businesses — beginning immediately to take the temperature of every single employee every day before they come to work. We’re asking them to be aggressive in regard to cleaning surfaces and having soap/hand sanitizer available. Send employees home who are sick.
Less than 24 hours later, Governor DeWine had publicly recognized that there was an extreme shortage of thermometers available in stores, and on-line orders had weeks long backorders. However, he still encouraged employers to do what they could, and if they could not personally take employee temperatures to instruct employees to do so before coming to work.
While this request was not an official order, it is recommended that employers do what they can to comply.
Recommended Action Steps for Employers:
If you have a forehead or touchless thermometer available, use it to take the temperature of every employee before they start work. Ideally, this would be done before they enter the workplace, or as close to the employee entrance as possible. If an employee has a fever (100.4° F), send them home. (If they have coronavirus symptoms and need to isolate they may apply for unemployment.) If you do not have a thermometer, instruct all employees to take their temperatures before leaving for work, and to call in if they have a fever or other symptoms. If you have any questions regarding coronavirus related employment issues, please contact Jennifer Corso. jcorso@ps-law.com, 216-381-3400.