Dear Evil HR Lady,
My company is about to switch over to “paid time off” (PTO) from a more traditional vacation- and sick-time policy. I’m really unhappy about the prospect of people coming into work sick and (of course!) getting me sick, as well. I know this is a very typical problem with PTO workplaces.
Can you tell me about what employees can do if they are in such a situation?
1) Can I ask my company to remove the sick person from the workplace?
2) Is the employer required to remove the sick person from the workplace, as it is now (somewhat) unsafe?
I’m a pretty healthy person, so I should gain a few bonus days because of my relatively good health. I just HATE it when people come in sick, and I know that when we convert to PTO it will be even worse.
To read the answer click here: Can the boss force you to go home if you’re sick?
And this answer is not only from me, but has advice from an actual attorney–the fabulous Bryan Cavanaugh.
“If we are talking about a common cold, flu, or seasonal allergies, then the company has a right to manage its workforce by excluding sick employees,…”
I don’t put seasonal allergies in the same category as the common cold or flu. I have seasonal allergies, and there are days when I wake up and it takes half the day to figure out if it’s allergies or if I’m getting sick, but the difference is that seasonal allergies are not contagious. I can sneeze all day long with allergies, and no one is going to catch them from me. Sure, they may catch something else, but not the allergies.
I hate it when people come in when they are REALLY sick, because that makes the rest of us look like slackers if we take off for the same thing. Which, by the way, we probably caught from the sickie who showed up!