Governors and public health officials across the country have implemented stringent measures to help contain the spread of COVID-19, such as stay at home and face covering mandates. Some jurisdictions also require employers to screen the health of employees, often as they begin a shift. These health screening steps, including temperature checks, may become more common as states begin to reopen their economies.
This post, current as of April 27, 2020 at 9:00 p.m. (CDT), covers laws and orders that require employers to take employees' temperatures and/or conduct other employee health screening procedures, such as asking employees about any COVID-19-consistent symptoms using a questionnaire or checklist. This chart covers only generally applicable requirements and does not cover the heightened requirements applicable to certain types of employees, such as healthcare workers; public health workers; long-term care, assisted living, and nursing home workers; first responders; and law enforcement. We will update this list regularly but expect it will become outdated quickly as new announcements are made.
Note that this list does not include temperature or health screening requirements at the local level. In addition, this post does not address other significant issues related to employer screenings of employee health, including potential wage and hour, discrimination, and privacy concerns. As a result, employers should consult with counsel for details on additional orders that may apply to their operations and for guidance on related legal questions.
|
Jurisdiction |
Temperature Screening |
Other Health Screening |
|
Alabama |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Alaska |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Arizona |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Arkansas |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
California |
No requirement. NOTE: At least one California county recommends employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
No requirement. NOTE: Some California counties have varying degrees of requirements for employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
|
Colorado |
Required. Employers must conduct daily temperature checks. |
Required. Employers must implement symptom monitoring protocols and may use an employee health screening form for checking symptoms. |
|
Connecticut |
Recommended. Employees should take their temperature before they go to work. If they have a temperature above 100.4F, they should stay home. |
No requirement |
|
Delaware |
Required for high-risk businesses and recommended for all others: each employee must be asked about and report body temperature at or above 99.5F. If a facility has the capability to perform active temperature monitoring, they may do so. Division of Public Health Essential Services Screening Policy |
Required for high-risk businesses and recommended for all others: employers must screen each incoming employee with a basic questionnaire. |
|
District of Columbia |
No requirement |
Required. Retail food sellers (including grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, food halls, and food banks) must check employees for symptoms before their shifts and exclude employees with cold- or flu-like symptoms. If an employee exhibits symptoms during shift, exclude that employee. |
|
Florida |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Georgia |
No requirement |
Required for restaurants, food establishments, gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, and personal care services. Employers must screen and evaluate employees who exhibit signs of illness, such as a fever over 100.4F, cough, or shortness of breath. Employers must require employees who exhibit signs of illness to seek medical attention and not report to work. Strongly recommended for all other businesses. Gyms and fitness centers are also required to screen patrons at entrance and refuse entry to those displaying symptoms. |
|
Hawaii |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Idaho |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Illinois |
No requirement |
Recommended. Employees who appear to have acute respiratory illness symptoms (i.e., cough, shortness of breath) upon arrival to work or become sick during the day should be separated from other employees and be sent home immediately. |
|
Indiana |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Iowa |
Recommended. Employees with temperatures 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit should be sent home. Employees should be screened before and after each shift. Employers should use the screening algorithm. |
Recommended. Employers should also screen the employees for coughs, sore throats, difficulty breathing and any other respiratory symptoms. Employees should be screened before and after each shift. Employers should use the screening algorithm. |
|
Kansas |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Kentucky |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Louisiana |
No requirement |
Recommended. Employees who appear to have acute respiratory illness symptoms upon arrival to work should be separated from other employees and sent home. |
|
Maine |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Maryland |
Recommended when an outbreak becomes sufficiently severe or widespread. |
No requirement |
|
Massachusetts |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Michigan |
Required for food selling establishment and pharmacy employees who have indicated that they have had close contact with a person with COVID-19 during the previous 14 days. Employers should measure the employee's temperature and assess symptoms each day before they start work. Ideally, temperature checks should happen before the individual enters the facility. | Required for food selling establishments and pharmacies. Such employers must ask employees symptom and contact screening questions as they report for work. NOTE: Some Michigan counties have varying degrees of requirements for employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
|
Minnesota |
Recommended. Employers should consider regular health checks (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom screening) of staff and visitors entering buildings if feasible. Required for meatpacking industry employers. Such employers must conduct temperature screening if it can be done with proper social distancing and hygiene. If a worker has an oral or aural temperature above 99.5F confirmed with oral or aural thermometer, the worker should be further evaluated by a plant occupational health nurse, who can determine if the employee can go home to recover, or should report to healthcare. |
Recommended. Employers should consider regular health checks (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom screening) of staff and visitors entering buildings if feasible. Required for meatpacking industry employers. Such employers must conduct screening each time employees or visitors enter the facility using the following verbal screening questions listed in the guidance. Required for industrial, manufacturing, and office-based businesses reopening on or after April 27: such employers' COVID-19 Preparedness Plans must include employee health screening procedures. |
|
Mississippi |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Missouri |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Montana |
No requirement |
Required. Employers must conduct health assessments on employees at the beginning of each shift. Personal care services businesses must also screen customers prior to appointments for symptoms. |
|
Nebraska |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Nevada |
No requirement |
Recommended for grocery employers. Employers should monitor employees for signs of illness and require sick workers to stay home. |
|
New Hampshire |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
New Jersey |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
New Mexico |
Recommended for restaurants, retail food stores, and food delivery services. |
Recommended for restaurants, retail food stores, and food delivery services. |
|
New York |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
North Carolina |
No requirement. NOTE: Some North Carolina counties have varying degrees of requirements for employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
No requirement. NOTE: Some North Carolina counties have varying degrees of requirements for employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
|
North Dakota |
Recommended. Employers may check employees' temperatures when they arrive to work. |
Recommended. If an employee calls in sick, an employer may ask the employee if they are experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19. |
|
Ohio |
Recommended. Employers should screen employees each day before work if they cannot work from home. An employee with a temperature of 100.4F must be sent home. If an employer cannot take employees' temperatures, the employer should have employees take their temperatures at home and stay home if they have a fever. |
Required. Employers must conduct daily health assessments on employees. |
|
Oklahoma |
No requirement. NOTE: At least one Oklahoma county recommends employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
No requirement |
|
Oregon |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Pennsylvania |
Recommended generally, required for confirmed exposure. Employers may take employees' temperatures before they begin work and send employees home if they have a fever of 100.4F or above. If the business has been exposed to a person who is a probable or confirmed case of COVID19, employers shall implement the above temperature screening protocol. |
Required for construction employers. Such employers must employ jobsite screening based on CDC guidance to determine if employees should work and prohibit any employees with any symptoms of COVID-19 from working. |
|
Puerto Rico |
No requirement |
Required. Employers must implement a protocol to monitor and screen personnel prior to entering the workplace, along with the procedures to follow in case they detect an employee with symptoms. |
|
Rhode Island |
No requirement |
Recommended. Employers are recommended to have employees complete a verbal health screening and ask them if they are experiencing any of the specified symptoms related to COVID-19. |
|
South Carolina |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
South Dakota |
No requirement |
Recommended. Employers can ask employees screening questions when they report to work and keep a daily screening log. |
|
Tennessee |
Recommended. "Best practice:" employers to take temperatures on site with a no-touch thermometer each day upon arrival at work. "Minimum:" Temperatures can be taken before arriving. Normal temperature should not exceed 100.4F. |
Recommended. Screen employees with questions about symptoms. |
|
Texas |
Required for retail businesses that are reopening. The Department of State Health Services guidance requires that all employees must be screened before coming into the business for specified symptoms consistent with COVID-19, including feeling feverish or a measured temperature of 100.0F or greater. The guidance does not state that employers must take employees' temperatures. NOTE: Some Texas counties also have varying degrees of requirements for employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Required for retail businesses that are reopening. All employees must be screened before coming into the business for specified symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or known close contact with a person who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19. Any employee who meets any of these criteria should be sent home. NOTE: Some Texas counties also have varying degrees of requirements for employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
|
Utah |
No requirement |
Recommended. Management should screen employees on a daily basis and at the beginning of each shift for symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Employees who present symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should not be permitted to work at the physical premises of the business. |
|
Vermont |
Required. To the extent feasible, prior to the commencement of each work shift, pre-screening or survey shall be required to verify each employee has no symptoms of respiratory illness, including temperature checks. |
Required. To the extent feasible, prior to the commencement of each work shift, pre-screening or survey shall be required to verify each employee has no symptoms of respiratory illness, including temperature checks. |
|
Virginia |
Recommended. All critical infrastructure/essential personnel, regardless of known exposure, should self-monitor for symptoms under the supervision of their employer's occupational health program including taking their own temperatures before each work shift to check for fever. |
Recommended. All critical infrastructure/essential personnel, regardless of known exposure, should self-monitor for symptoms under the supervision of their employer's occupational health program including taking their own temperatures before each work shift to check for fever. All businesses/employers should consider requesting their staff to self-monitor for symptoms even in the absence of a formal, onsite occupational health program. |
|
Washington |
No requirement |
Recommended. All employers are advised to screen everyone who enters their facility, including all employees before the start of each work shift and all visitors. The guidance lists suggested screening questions. |
|
West Virginia |
Required for certain employers. Restaurant and bar employers "are being requested" to monitor their employees daily for common symptoms of COVID-19, including checking employees' temperatures upon arrival for work. |
Required for certain employers. Restaurant and bar employers "are being requested" to monitor their employees daily for common symptoms of COVID-19, including checking employees' temperatures upon arrival for work. |
|
Wisconsin |
No requirement |
No requirement |
|
Wyoming |
No requirement |
No requirement |
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
