Spotswood, NJ asked in Employment Law for New Jersey

Q: Can an employer in NJ force an office worker back into the office one day a week under EO 107?

Under EO 107, paragraphs 10 and 11 offices must provide telework options for employees where practicable.

With this EO in place today, October 15 2020, can an employer tell an employee who was working remotely that they must come into the office for one day per week, working remotely the other 4 days?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Lisa I. Fried-Grodin
Lisa I. Fried-Grodin
Answered
  • Fairfield, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: If an employee has a need to work from home for a medical reason (COVID-19 or otherwise) including pregnancy, to quarantine, to take care of a sick family member or to care for a child who has to participate in school at home, the employee could have rights to request a full work from home schedule under various state and federal laws. However unless one of those scenarios are present, an employer in New Jersey would be permitted to require employees to report into the office if they take measures to minimize potential exposure to COVID-19 for those working in the office.

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