Hey Compliance Warriors!
States are updating their testing requirements and suggested practices regularly. Here is a chart of testing requirements by state. Read on…
Via https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/wont-hurt-bit-employee-temperature-and-health-screenings-list
This post, current as of July 10, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. (CDT), covers statewide 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 We will update this list regularly but expect it will become outdated quickly as new announcements are made.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. If you would like more information, please contact your Littler attorney for additional resources that summarize such requirements at both the state and 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.
Employers interested in further information may wish to consult our articles identifying face covering guidance and return to work protocols, as well as our interactive reopening map.
| Jurisdiction | Temperature Screening | Other Health Screening |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Recommended. “Best practice”: employers should take temperatures onsite with a no-touch thermometer each day upon a person’s arrival at work. “Minimum practice”: an employee may take his or her temperature before arriving. In either case, a normal temperature does not exceed 100.4F. | Recommended. Employers should screen all employees reporting to work for COVID-19 symptoms with specified questions. |
| Alaska | No requirement |
Recommended. Reopening businesses should conduct pre-shift symptom screening NOTE: At least one Alaska locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Arizona | Required. Employers must implement symptom screening for employees prior to the start of their shift, including temperature checks for all personnel, when possible, as they arrive on premises or before opening. | Required. Employers must implement symptom screening for employees prior to the start of their shift, including wellness/symptom checks, as they arrive on premises or before opening. |
| Arkansas | No requirement |
Required for restaurant employers. All staff shall be screened for specified symptoms daily before entering the workplace. Required for gyms and fitness centers. All staff shall be screened for specified symptoms daily before entering the workplace. Recommended generally. Employees should be screened for fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell as they are entering the building at the beginning work. |
| California |
No requirement. NOTE: Some California localities have provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Required. Employers must train employees on how to limit the spread of COVID-19, including how to screen themselves for symptoms and stay home if they have them. NOTE: Some California localities have provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Colorado |
Required. Employers must conduct daily temperature checks at the worksite to the greatest extent possible, or if not practicable, through self-assessment at home prior to coming to the worksite. State guidance provides that all information about employee illness must be treated as a confidential medical record. Employers with over 50 employees in any one location shall, in addition to the above requirements, implement employee screening systems that follow the above requirements in one of the following ways: (1) set up stations at the worksite for symptom screening and temperature checks; or (2) create a business policy that requires at-home employee e self-screening each work day and reporting of the results to the employer prior to entering the worksite. NOTE: Some Colorado localities have provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Required. Employers must implement daily symptom monitoring protocols at the worksite to the greatest extent possible, or if not practicable, through self-assessment at home prior to coming to the worksite. Employers may use an employee health screening form for checking symptoms. State guidance provides that all information about employee illness must be treated as a confidential medical record Employers with over 50 employees in any one location shall, in addition to the above requirements, implement employee screening systems that follow the above requirements in one of the following ways: (1) set up stations at the worksite for symptom screening and temperature checks; or (2) create a business policy that requires at-home employee e self-screening each work day and reporting of the results to the employer prior to entering the worksite. NOTE: Some Colorado localities have provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Connecticut | Recommended. Employees should take their temperature before they go to work. If they have a temperature above 100.4F, they should stay home. | Required for personal care services, retail, restaurants, and office-based businesses. These employers must ask employees resuming on-premises work to confirm they have not experienced COVID-19 CDC-defined symptoms and to monitor their own symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, or any two of the additional symptoms enumerated in the guidance. |
| 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. Division of Public Health Essential Services Screening Policy NOTE: At least one Delaware locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| 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. Recommended for restaurants: screen employees by assessing symptoms of workers (including fever) with a questionnaire, at the beginning of their shift, ideally before entering the facility or operation. |
| Florida |
No requirement NOTE: At least one Florida locality has provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
No requirement. NOTE: At least one Florida locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Georgia | No requirement |
Required for restaurants, bars, retail food establishments, gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, personal care services, and all other non-critical businesses conducting in-person operations. 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 |
Restaurant employers, personal care services, and gyms and fitness centers should check temperature with non-contact thermometer; if no fever, which is a temperature greater than 100.4°F, or COVID-19 symptoms are present, require workers to self-monitor and report onset of symptoms during their shift. NOTE: At least one Idaho locality has provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Restaurant employers, personal care services, and gyms and fitness centers should monitor employee health by screening employees for fever and symptoms before every shift. NOTE: At least one Idaho locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Illinois | Recommended for specified employers. Employers should make temperature checks available for employees and encourage their use. |
Recommended for specified employers. Employer should conduct in-person screening of employees upon entry into workplace and mid-shift screening to verify no presence of COVID-19 symptoms. NOTE: At least one Illinois locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Indiana | Recommended for reopening businesses but not required. |
Required. Reopening businesses must conduct employee health screenings. Required for food industry workers. NOTE: At least one Indiana locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Iowa | No requirement | Recommended for personal care services employers: ask employees and the public to acknowledge upon entry that they do not currently have symptoms and that they have not been around anyone with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in the last 14 days. |
| Kansas |
Recommended. Employers should monitor employees’ temperatures regularly. The state provides a template screening form for logging symptoms. NOTE: At least one Kansas locality has provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Recommended. Employers should monitor employees’ symptoms regularly. The state provides a template screening form for logging symptoms. NOTE: At least one Kansas locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Kentucky | Required. All businesses, including those that were permitted to remain open, must require employees to undergo daily temperature checks. Businesses may choose whether to require (1) on-site temperature screenings, or (2) self-screenings conducted by employees at home at least once every 24 hours, ideally just before going to work, and reported to the employer prior to beginning work. Employees with a fever above 100.4° should not report to work. |
Required. All businesses, including those that were permitted to remain open, must require employees to undergo daily health assessments for specified symptoms. These assessments may be either self-administered or administered by the business prior to workplace entry. Self-administered assessments may performed at home. NOTE: At least one Kentucky locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Louisiana |
No requirement NOTE: At least one Louisiana locality has provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Recommended. Employees who appear to have acute respiratory illness symptoms upon arrival to work should be separated from other employees and sent home. NOTE: At least one Louisiana locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Maine | No requirement | No requirement |
| Maryland | Recommended. Employers should implement a daily screening process for workers and other personnel which include CDC or MDH recommended health questions and consider temperature testing. |
Recommended. Employers should implement a daily screening process for workers and other personnel which include CDC or MDH recommended health questions and consider temperature testing. NOTE: At least one Maryland locality has provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| 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 manufacturing facilities. The employee screening protocol must include temperature screening as soon as no-touch thermometers can be obtained. Recommended for construction businesses, which must conduct temperature screening “if possible.” NOTE: Some Michigan localities have provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Required for businesses or operations whose employees are required to leave home to work. Conduct a daily entry self-screening protocol for all employees or contractors entering the workplace, including, at a minimum, a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19. Required for food selling establishments and pharmacies. Such employers must ask employees symptom and contact screening questions as they report for work. Required for construction businesses. Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for workers and visitors entering the worksite, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with, if possible, a temperature screening. Required for manufacturing facilities, which must conduct a daily entry screening protocol for workers, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering the facility, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19. Manufacturers must also create dedicated entry point(s) at every facility for daily screening and ensure physical barriers are in place to prevent anyone from bypassing the screening. NOTE: Some Michigan localities have provisions concerning 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 |
Required for restaurants and bars reopening for dine-in; required for personal care services employees; required for gym and fitness center employees; required for employees of indoor places of amusement. Such employers shall conduct a daily screening of all employees at the beginning of their shifts by asking specified questions regarding symptoms. Required for all businesses in specified counties. Employers shall conduct a daily screening of all employees at the beginning of their shifts by asking specified questions regarding symptoms. |
| Missouri |
No requirement. NOTE: Some Missouri localities have provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
No requirement. NOTE: Some Missouri localities have provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| 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 |
Recommended for restaurants reopening for dine-in. Complete employee pre-screening (e.g., take temperature and assess for any symptoms consistent with COVID-19) prior to starting work. Recommended for meat processing facilities. The recommended health screening should include temperature checks. |
Recommended for restaurants reopening for dine-in. Complete employee pre-screening (e.g., take temperature and assess for any symptoms consistent with COVID-19) prior to starting work Recommended for meat processing facilities. All employees and essential visitors/contractors should be screened daily for symptoms. |
| Nevada | No requirement |
Required. The following employers must perform a daily symptom assessment, including monitoring for fever, cough, and trouble breathing: agriculture, appliance and furniture showrooms, auto dealerships, banks and financial services, personal care services, restaurants and food and drink establishments, general office operations, retail and consumer services, and transportation, couriers, and warehousing. Recommended for all employers: have employees perform self-assessments for COVID-19-like symptoms each day. Recommended for grocery employers. Employers should monitor employees for signs of illness and require sick workers to stay home. |
| New Hampshire | Required. Essential businesses and organizations and those that are reopening all or a portion of their operations must document the temperature of all employees daily before their shift. Employers should take the temperatures of their employees on-site with a non-touch thermometer each day upon the employees arrival at work. If this is not possible, temperatures can be taken before arriving as long as it can sufficiently be authenticated by the employee. Normal temperature should not exceed 100.0F. | Required. Essential businesses and organizations and those that are reopening all or a portion of their operations must develop a process for screening all employees reporting for work for COVID-19 related symptoms by asking the questions listed in the order. The person responsible for screening should wear a cloth face covering. |
| New Jersey |
Required for agriculture employers. Employer is to screen workers for symptoms, including temperature and symptom checks prior to work shifts. Required for restaurants and other food and beverage establishments. Employers must conduct daily health checks (e.g., temperature screening and/or symptom checking) of employees safely and respectfully, and in accordance with any applicable privacy laws and regulations. |
Required for agriculture employers. Employer is to screen workers for symptoms, including temperature and symptom checks prior to work shifts. Required for restaurants and other food and beverage establishments. Employers must conduct daily health checks (e.g., temperature screening and/or symptom checking) of employees safely and respectfully, and in accordance with any applicable privacy laws and regulations. |
| New Mexico | Recommended as a best practice for retail employers: screen employees and customers with a no-contact thermometer and do not permit entry to those with a temperature greater than 100.4F. | Required. All employers must screen employees for symptoms before they enter the workplace each day, verbally or with a written or text/app-based questionnaire. |
| New York |
Recommended generally as part of an employer’s mandatory health screening assessment. Commercial building owners, retail store owners and those authorized on their behalf to manage public places within their buildings and businesses shall have the discretion to require individuals to undergo temperature checks prior to being allowed admittance, as well as the discretion to deny admittance to (i) any individual who refuses to undergo such a temperature check and (ii) any individual whose temperature is above that proscribed by New York State Department of Health Guidelines. |
Reopening employers must implement mandatory health screening assessment (e.g. questionnaire, temperature check) before employees begin work each day and for essential visitors. Assessment responses must be reviewed every day and such review must be documented. |
| North Carolina |
No requirement. NOTE: At least one North Carolina locality has provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Required. Businesses open to the public must conduct daily symptom screening of workers, using a standard interview questionnaire of symptoms, before workers enter the workplace. NOTE: At least one North Carolina locality has provisions concerning 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 | No requirement | Required. Employees must conduct daily health self-assessments and must not report to work if symptomatic. |
| Oklahoma |
No requirement. NOTE: Some Oklahoma localities have provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
No requirement |
| Oregon |
Recommended. Employers should consider regular health checks (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom screening) or symptom self-report of employees, if job-related and consistent with business necessity. Personal care services employers should consider temperature checks for clients |
Recommended. Employers should consider regular health checks (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom screening) or symptom self-report of employees, if job-related and consistent with business necessity. Personal care services employers must contact clients prior to appointments to screen them for symptoms. |
| 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. NOTE: At least one Pennsylvania locality has provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
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 | Required. Businesses must implement and ensure compliance with screening all individuals entering the establishment at any time for any reason including, at minimum: (1) visual assessment, self-screening, or a written questionnaire, or a combination of any of these screening methods; and (2) at all entrances to an establishment, notice that all individuals entering must be screened or self-screened, and to not enter if they are COVID-19 positive, have COVID-19 symptoms, or have had close contact with a COVID-19-positive individual. |
| South Carolina | Recommended for restaurant employees. | Recommended for restaurant employees. |
| 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. NOTE: Some Tennessee localities have provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Recommended. Screen employees with questions about symptoms. NOTE: Some Tennessee localities have provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Texas |
Recommended as a minimum standard health protocol for businesses that are reopening. All employees should 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. NOTE: Some Texas localities have provisions concerning employee temperature screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
Recommended as a minimum standard health protocol for businesses that are reopening. All employees should 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 localities have provisions concerning employee health screenings. Please check with your Littler attorney for additional information about your particular jurisdiction. |
| Utah | Required for gyms/fitness centers: Employees must go through symptom checking before every shift, including temperature. |
Required for gyms/fitness centers and personal care services: Symptom checking of all staff at the beginning of each shift, with a log that can be made available for inspection by health department. Recommended for all employers: employees who are, or work with, high-risk populations, should undergo daily screening/symptom monitoring. |
| 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. Employees should also self-monitor their symptoms by self-taking of temperature to check for fever before reporting to work. For employers with established occupational health programs, employers can consider measuring temperature and assessing symptoms of employees prior to starting work/before each shift. | Recommended. Prior to a shift and on days employees are scheduled to work, employers should screen employees prior to starting work. Employees should also self-monitor their symptoms by self-taking of temperature to check for fever and utilizing the questions provided in the VDH Interim Guidance for COVID -19 Daily Screening of Employees before reporting to work. For employers with established occupational health programs, employers can consider measuring temperature and assessing symptoms of employees prior to starting work/before each shift. |
| Washington |
Required for reopening nonessential retail establishments. Employers must ask employees to take their temperatures at home prior to arriving at work or take their temperatures when they arrive. Thermometers used shall be ‘no touch’ or ‘no contact’ to the greatest extent possible. Any worker with a temperature of 100.4°F or higher is considered to have a fever and must be sent home. Required on low-risk construction sites. Employer must take each worker’s temperature at the beginning of their shift. Thermometers used shall be ‘no touch’ or ‘no contact’ to the greatest extent possible. If a ‘no touch’ or ‘no contact’ thermometer is not available, the thermometer must be properly sanitized between each use. Any worker with a temperature of 100.4°F or higher is considered to have a fever and must be sent home. |
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. Required for restaurants. Employers must screen employees for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 at the start of shift. Required on low-risk construction sites. Employers must screen all workers at the beginning of their shift by asking them if they have any of the specified symptoms. Required for reopening nonessential retail establishments. Employees must be screened for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 at the start of every shift. Required for landscaping employers. Employees must be screened for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 at the start of every shift. |
| West Virginia | Recommended for lodging establishments and restaurants. Employees are encouraged to take their temperature prior to leaving for work or upon arrival. If their temperature measures over 100F, the employee should notify management and not begin work. |
Required for certain employers. Restaurant and bar employers and lodging establishments and retail establishments must monitor their employees daily by asking screening questions about common symptoms of COVID-19. Small businesses are recommended to screen employees for COVID-19 symptoms daily using a series of questions. |
| Wisconsin | No requirement | No requirement |
| Wyoming | No requirement |
Required. Restaurant/bar employees, movie theater and live performance venue employees must be screened for symptoms of illness before each shift. Required. Gym employees must be screened for symptoms of illness before each shift. Required. Personal care services employees must be screened for symptoms of illness before each shift. Generally recommended for other employers. |
