What to Do If an Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19

One of your supervisors has called you, with one of those “uh, oh” problems that business owners and operators, HR leaders and others have been trying to anticipate since the coronavirus pandemic started gaining momentum: What do you do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19?

Addressing it can be complicated. You’ve not only got the employee’s welfare (and maybe their family’s) to think about, along with other employees. Without damaging your culture or violating any laws, you want to make sure that all the right protocols and procedures are in place and ready to go.

Here are five steps to walk you through what to do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19:

1. Self-quarantine. The infected employee must immediately be instructed to self-quarantine at home for at least 14 days, or until cleared by a physician or health official. Length guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control(CDC) vary according to the severity of the symptoms.

2. Contact tracing. Ask which co-workers (and anyone else in the workplace, like customers) may have been exposed to the infected employee. The CDC’s “formula” can make this easier to carry through: 6-15-48. In other words, infected employees need to identify any others who worked within 6 feet of them, for at least 15 minutes and within the 48 hours before the infected employee started showing symptoms. They should be asked to self-quarantine.

3. Employee privacy rights. It’s essential to notify your entire workforce that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19, but that individual’s identity must be kept private, as per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

4. Record-keeping requirements. OSHA has issued record-keeping requirements for work-related cases of positive COVID-19. To comply requires asking infected employees how they believe they may have contracted the virus and reviewing their work environment. Documentation is key. Also check for local and state reporting requirements.

5. Clean and disinfect. Follow CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting all areas used by the infected employee, focusing especially on frequently touched surfaces.

What to do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19? While it’s important to go by the book in following the rules, don’t forget your humanity.

The infected employee and those in the close contact group are likely to be nervous and overwhelmed, and are going to want your support. How you communicate with the immediate group and your employees in general about the situation and how it’s being managed will say a lot about your brand and how you treat people. Share resources on stress and coping, and programs and benefits available for anyone affected by COVID-19. Eventually, we’ll all emerge on the other side.