As Louisiana enters phase two of its reopening plan, and other states slowly return to normal operations, U.S. employers are urging workers to be cautious when they are off duty, and at least one local official in St. Louis has begun advising employers to ask staffers about activities in their off hours, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Some companies are concerned that the many safeguards put in place at work to limit the spread of the coronavirus—from policies requiring masks and frequent hand sanitizing on the job to separated desks—could be undone if workers are taking risks off the job.
Protecting workers as many cities begin to loosen restrictions is only the latest challenge employers must navigate as businesses settle into a new normal rife with uncertainties.
Neil Blumenthal, co-chief executive of eyewear seller Warby Parker, held an employee town hall in mid May where he urged the New York company’s roughly 3,000 employees to be on guard during the Memorial Day weekend.
It’s a difficult balancing act. Companies have limited sway over employees’ lives outside the workplace, legal experts say. Bosses can educate workers about the potential risks and ask them to stay away from the office but can’t bar them from going to a bar, a party, or using mass transit in their personal time.
On the other side, employees generally have no legal obligation to disclose information such as how they spend their personal time, employment lawyers say. But there are ethical considerations when it comes to things like whether a family member has become ill, workplace experts say, so that managers can alert an employee’s colleagues. Read the full story.
