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March 19, 2020

Ohio Governor Requests Employers Take Worker Temps During COVID-19 Crisis

OADA and Fisher Phillips have received numerous calls on the legal hotline since yesterday afternoon regarding Governor Mike's DeWine's recommendation on taking your employee's temperature. Fisher Phillips has issued an alert, which you will find below.

We want to emphasize that Governor DeWine only recommended that employers check their employees temperatures.  There is no mandate to do so at this time.  Many dealerships have expressed concern that they are unable to get a thermometer because of the increased demand and are unable to comply with the recommendation.  Out of an abundance of caution, if you cannot get a thermometer some other options may include:

  • Asking employees to take their temperature before coming to work each day and calling HR if they have a temperature in excess of the CDC recommendations;
  • Working with a local doctor or healthcare provider to see if a nurse or other staff member may be willing to assist in you taking temperatures onsite; and/or
  • Training staff and managers on identifying the common symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and encouraging them to advise employees to consult with their healthcare provider.

Fisher Phillips


Information Provided by Fisher Phillips...

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has requested that any Ohio employer that remains open during the current public health crisis take the temperatures of its employees daily before beginning work. According to DeWine, employees who show an elevated temperature (100.4 degrees or higher, or 99.6 for the elderly) should be sent home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Governor DeWine said the state government may have to take more drastic measures if companies and employees do not take the request to take employee temperatures seriously: “If we’re finding we can’t get people to do this, we’re going to have to go to the next stage, which is absolutely close everything down unless it’s essential,” DeWine said. "And we’re not there yet. We may get there. But look, we have to have everybody. I just plead with employers, I plead with employees, if you’re sick, stay home. Every employer in this state should take the temperature of everybody who comes in. Literally every single day. We have to take these actions. We can’t do all of this. Everybody has to do this.”

Click Here for the full article, and for additional legal guidance on this issue.