Hogan Lovells Publications | 09 June 2020

Employers need to consider whether they must compensate employees for mandatory COVID-19 testing

As cities and states around the United States are gearing to reopen facilities, employers are tasked with the daunting responsibility of ensuring that their workspaces are safe. As we previously posted, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued guidance expressly stating that employers may require employees to be tested for COVID-19 before they are allowed to enter the workplace. While the EEOC offered guidance signaling that employers may only administer COVID-19 tests that are “job related and consistent with business necessity,” the guidance fell short of clarifying certain practical considerations surrounding the testing. One such consideration was whether employers are required to compensate employees for the cost of and time spent undergoing the COVID-19 test. The EEOC has been silent on these points – so has the federal Department of Labor (DOL).

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