Employment Attorney Outlines Workers' Rights As New York City Inches Closer To Reopening Offices
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City is inching closer to Phase Two of reopening, which includes offices.
The CDC and state have given a list of guidelines for companies to follow, but what if employees don't want to have their temperature taken or physically go back to their employer's building?
Many people are over working from home, ready to return to the office.
"I'm actually excited. I live alone so it's pretty boring," one man said.
But what about those who don't want to?
"Fear is not an excuse for failing to return to work," employment attorney Helen Rella told CBS2's Alice Gainer.
Rella says if you don't come in and are asked to, you could be fired.
But...
"If you have an underlying medical condition, you could ask your employer for an accommodation," she said.
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As for commuting, some employers are asking workers to skip mass transit for now.
"You can't mandate how people come and go from the office when they're not actually performing services," Rella said.
Before the pandemic, she says being asked to have your temperature taken at work was considered an impermissible medical test, but now the equal employment opportunity commission is allowing it.
So if you refuse...
"The employer could tell that employee that they can't come into the office," Rella said.
What about employees who are being told to work from home for the foreseeable future?
"This is something that an employee can certainly discuss with their employer, but generally speaking there's no requirement that the employer reimburse its employees for costs associated with working from home," Rella said.
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CBS2 spoke to people who work at various companies. They all said their employers seem to be doing their best to make people feel at ease.
"It's gonna include things like covering cell phone charges, maybe home internet charges, things like that," Thach Nguyen said.
"Phone calls, video calls, you know, to let us know how they're gonna reopen," dental hygienist Maritza Gonzalez said.
"They can help us with mental health and advice on dealing with children, if you have at home, so I think I'm really lucky," Spotify employee Andrew Joseph said.
Rella's best advice is for the employee and employer to have interactive discussions.
It's been a highly unusual situation for companies, now learning as they go, and no one wants an unhappy or sick workforce while trying to get the economy going again.
When it comes to child care, federal law requires certain employers to give paid leave at a reduced rate to primary caretakers when a school is closed or a child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19.
