Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

In some form or another, it’s looking like in-person learning will be going ahead this school year but that parents can keep their children home if they wish. In many cases, employers whose operations have been remote for the past several months are looking to bring employees back to the office. What if an employee doesn’t want to send their child back to school and subsequently insists that they cannot, therefore, come back into the office to work? What are an employer’s options?

Ask Why

If an employee will not be sending their child to school and insists that they too need to remain at home, ask why. While all things COVID-19 present novel legal situations, and we don’t yet have any certainty on how courts and tribunals will rule, it’s reasonable to assume that if your employee has a legitimate disability-related COVID-19 exposure concern this should be accommodated. Asking your employee why they are not sending their child to school allows them to raise their need for accommodation.