COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine has requested that any Ohio employers that remain open take the temperatures of their employees each day on their way into work.

If any employees show an elevated temperature, DeWine on Wednesday asked them to send the employee home. He said this would help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The request is just that — a request. But DeWine said Wednesday the state government may have to take more drastic measures if companies and workers don’t take it 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.”

He also asked that employers be “very, very aggressive” in cleaning surfaces, while keeping plenty of soap and water, hand sanitizers and other sanitary equipment on site to help keep their employees safe.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has issued guidance saying that a fever — which the agency defines as a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, or 99.6 for the elderly — can be a sign of COVID-19. A fever can also be signs of other various illnesses. The CDC has recommended that anyone with a fever who thinks they came into contact with someone with COVID-19 to contact their doctor.

Peter Mapley, an employment-law attorney in Cleveland, said under current conditions, it is legal for companies to require temperature checks of their employees.

Usually, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, which enforces civil-rights and workplace discrimination laws, has said that temperature checks are a medical exam, which is beyond what employers generally can require.

But they’ve issued updated guidance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Because the CDC and state/local health authorities have acknowledged community spread of COVID-19 and issued attendant precautions, employers may measure employees’ body temperature," says the EEOC’s guidance, updated Wednesday. “However, employers should be aware that some people with COVID-19 do not have a fever.”

Neil Klingshirn, another employer-law attorney in Cleveland, said the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits temperature checks unless it’s job-related and consistent with business necessity.

But, he said the issue has not be legally tested during a pandemic like the one that’s currently going on.

“For now, in my opinion, I believe employers are within their rights to take temperatures and send home employees who have a fever,” he said. “If the employee has COVID-19, protecting other employees is job related and consistent with business necessity. If the employee does not have COVID-19, the employer might have to pay the employee for the wages lost as a result of not being able to work with a fever. However, that is a small price to pay for keeping other workers safe.”

DeWine requested the temperature checks at the Statehouse in Columbus during his now-daily briefing updating the public on the state’s coronavirus response.

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