Delta Variant, New CDC Masking Guidance And Your Return To Work Plans: 6 Considerations For Employers

• Published date: 10 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Health & Safety, Employment and Workforce Wellbeing
• Law Firm: Godfrey & Kahn S.C.
• Author: Ms Margaret Kurlinski and Christine Liu McLaughlin

After the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) guidance in May suggested that fully vaccinated individuals no longer needed to wear a mask in most settings, employers across the U.S. began crafting and communicating their plans to return to in-person work. With the end of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic seemingly in sight, many companies were targeting the week after the 2021 Labor Day holiday to be fully or mostly physically back to work. With the delta variant now spreading rapidly throughout the U.S., and the CDC's new masking guidance in place, employers are left wondering how all of this impacts their return to work plans.

As you re-examine your business' return to work plans in light of the CDC's new masking guidance, the following are six practical considerations to keep in mind:

1. The new CDC masking guidance is limited

While the updated CDC guidance was a blow to many employees and employers who were anxious to eliminate wearing masks indoors, there were only two substantive changes to the guidance:

1. Masking is now recommended for all individuals regardless of vaccination status in any indoor "public" space if in an area of "substantial or high transmission." The updated guidance does not define what is meant by "public" space and the term is open to multiple interpretations. One popular interpretation is that "public" areas include areas where individuals congregate and are unable to socially distance. The term "substantial or high transmission" is determined by a statistical analysis at the state and county levels. The CDC's updated guidance includes a link to the Data Tracker Weekly Review that enables searching for transmission levels by state and county. Additionally, for Wisconsin employers, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) also provides transmission levels by county.
2. If an individual is fully vaccinated and has been around someone who has COVID-19, then the individual should get tested three to five days after the date of exposure, even if there are no symptoms AND wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until the individual has a negative test result. Only if the individual tests positive is there a recommended quarantine for 10 days, which is not a change from prior guidance.

2. No change in EEOC COVID-19 vaccination guidance

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC's) COVID-19 vaccination guidance has not changed from when it was last updated on...