Guidance for Employers

Exposure/COVID-19 Positive

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides the following guidance regarding the isolation period for those who are positive for COVID-19.

Individuals Who Test Positive for COVID-19

Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and are mildly ill should stay home and away from others until their symptoms improve and they are fever-free (without medications) for 24 hours.1 Individuals should then use caution for 5 days by taking additional precautions (e.g., wear a mask). There may be additional masking recommendations for all individuals based on employer policies or state and local ordinances.  

Record Keeping

How will the employer need to interface with the occupational medicine physician to ensure that record keeping is done correctly and within compliance (e.g., HIPAA, OSHA, etc.)?

• Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an employer is allowed to ask an employee’s vaccination status. The employer should ensure they are following proper HIPAA procedures. It is important to confirm the status of the organization to know whether or not they are a HIPAA covered entity. For employers who are not considered a HIPAA compliant entity, then the HIPAA laws do not apply. However, other state and federal laws regarding the confidentiality of employee medical information may be applicable. For example, provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act may be relevant to medical information submitted to support a request for a vaccine exemption. Additionally, state workers’ compensation laws may vary in requirements for coverage of adverse events from an employer-mandated vaccine.

• The employer should be educated in advance regarding the acceptable medical conditions that might qualify for an exemption. As stated above, possible medical exemptions include: (1) serious allergic reaction to COVID-19 vaccine, (2) serious allergic reaction to COVID-19 vaccine component(s) (may take another vaccine) (e.g., if you are allergic to PEG, you should not get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, if you are allergic to polysorbate, you should not get the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine), (3) serious adverse effect to the first COVID-19 vaccine of a 2-dose vaccination series (e.g., myocarditis),2 and (4) waiting until out of isolation from a current COVID-19 infection.