The Mailbag.

• Author: Delogu, Nancy

These COVID self-isolations could break our business: Do we have any recourse?

Q. We are a small company (35 employees) and every position is crucial. Can an employee simply state, "I think I have COVID and will be self-isolating for 14 days?" This is disruptive. Can we require a test and results before they take the 14 days?--Q.L., California

A. This situation is tough on businesses. The laws and guidance are designed to encourage workers who may have been exposed to self-quarantine for 14 days. Workers who actually have COVID should stay home for 10 days after the diagnosis, and they should not return to work until they have been fever-free for 24 hours and their other symptoms improve. Even if they have no symptoms, they should not be permitted to return for 10 days.

So if someone announces they've been infected or exposed, you can ask them to provide the results of any test or recommendation from a health care provider to self-quarantine. You probably should not insist on receiving written notes, however, because health care providers may not be able to timely provide notes. Workers who are self-quarantining or isolating but who are feeling well enough can be asked to work from home, if the position allows it.

Remote employees want to move out of state: What are the implications, and what should we say?

Q. We have a few employees inquiring about moving out of state. We have a telecommuting agreement but not an eligibility/procedure policy for assessing an employee's out-of-state request. Do you have anything like this for reference?--Adreanna, California

A. Deciding whether to honor these requests is complicated (and not only because you may, at some point, wish to require them to physically report to the workplace with their co-workers). For example, when you place a worker in a new state, your organization will need to register its presence with that state and make arrangements to pay taxes and other assessments on behalf of your employee. (Short-term arrangements in the pandemic's early days may not have triggered these obligations, but localities are unlikely to refrain from compliance for long.)

Also, unemployment compensation, wage payment requirements and benefits laws may exist in that jurisdiction that you do not expect. For example, what does the local state law say about reimbursing workers for the cost of business expenses? Will you adjust salaries downward if the employee's cost of living decreases? Also, employees may be...