Employers Alarmed Administration’s Do-It-Yourself Approach For Testing Guidelines Creates Legal Pitfalls
While the Trump administration has said employers can test their workers and screen for temperatures, there's little guidance on how often that should be done. Business leaders are worried the gaps set up a scenario where they could be on the hook in worker lawsuits. Meanwhile, governors call for more stability from the federal government in terms of testing supplies and plans while the FDA tries to rein in the testing marketplace.
Politico:
Vague Testing Guidance Hinders Business Reopenings
Gaps in federal guidelines and ongoing fears about contaminated workplaces are keeping businesses from reopening the way the White House envisioned a month ago, when it shifted its pandemic message to an economic revival. The Trump administration has said businesses can make diagnostic coronavirus tests and temperature checks a condition for returning to work. But it hasn't answered key questions like when or how often to test workers or whether there should be a blanket testing policy for job seekers. (Rainey and Lim, 6/2)
Roll Call:
Democratic Govenors Seek Federal COVID-19 Testing Coordination
Governors told a House subcommittee Tuesday they need more predictability about how the federal government plans to help provide testing supplies as they reopen their states while trying to minimize another spike of COVID-19 infections. The testimony of a Republican and two Democratic governors came as the nation’s attention shifted this week from the pandemic, which has killed more than 100,000 Americans, to protests that broke out in cities nationwide following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minnesota. (McIntire, 6/2)
Kaiser Health News:
Hype Collides With Science As FDA Tries To Rein In ‘Wild West’ Of COVID Blood Tests
“Save your business while saving lives,” reads the website of Because Health, a Seattle tech startup selling two types of tests to employers willing to pay $350 a pop to learn whether their workers have been infected with COVID-19. The “Workplace Health” plan includes not only nasal swab tests to detect infection, but also blood tests aimed at indicating whether workers have developed antibodies to the virus — and, possibly, future protection. (Aleccia and Barry-Jester, 6/3)
