Should Businesses Screen Employees For Symptoms of COVID-19?

The goal of screening your employees for COVID-19 symptoms is to identify employees who may be sick so you can prevent them from coming to work, which protects your other employees from exposure to the coronavirus.­ Screening employees for symptoms of COVID-19 is an optional strategy that employers may use; it is not mandatory.

Screening employees is not completely effective at stopping COVID-19 because asymptomatic individuals or individuals with mild non-specific symptoms may not realize they are infected and may pass through screening. Screening is not a replacement for protective measures such as social distancing and face coverings.

If your business decides to screen employees, you can either require employees to self-screen, or you can have an employee conduct the screening.­ Here is a summary of the CDC recommendations for screening employees:

Self-Screening

For self-screening, employees screen themselves for COVID-19 symptoms and should stay home from work if:

• The employee has symptoms of COVID-19, such as:
  
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  • Fever or chills
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Muscle or body aches
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

*Please note: Symptoms may appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure to the virus and may be mild or severe. This list does not include all possible symptoms.­

• The employee has a fever of 100.4^oF or higher
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• The employee is under evaluation for COVID-19 (for example, waiting for the results of a viral test to confirm infection)
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• The employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is not yet cleared to discontinue isolation

Employer Screening

If you decide to use a member of your staff to screen your employees rather than relying on them to self-screen, consider which symptoms to include in your assessment. Although there are many different symptoms that may be associated with COVID-19 (see partial list above), you may not want to treat every employee with a single non-specific symptom (e.g., a headache) as a suspected case of COVID-19 and send them home.

Consider focusing the screening questions on “new” or “unexpected” symptoms (e.g., a chronic cough would not be a positive screen) such as the following:

• Fever or feeling feverish (chills, sweating)
• New cough
• Difficulty breathing
• Sore throat
• Muscle aches or body aches
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• New loss of taste or smell

Protection of Screeners

Employers can use either social distancing or physical barriers to protect the employee(s) conducting the screening and minimize their contact with an employee who might be contagious.

• Social Distancing: Ask employees to take their own temperature either before coming to work or upon arrival at work.­Upon their arrival, the screener should stand at least 6 feet away from the employee and:
  
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  • Ask the employee to confirm that their temperature is less than 100.4^o F and confirm that they are not experiencing coughing or shortness of breath.
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  • Make a visual inspection of the employee for signs of illness, which could include flushed cheeks or fatigue.
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  • Screening staff do not need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) if they can maintain a distance of 6 feet.
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• Barrier/Partition Controls: During screening, the screener s

  Published: 08/14/2020

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