NOT READY TO RETURN TO WORK?

Even if you don’t have legal protections, you may be able to negotiate with your boss.

- SANDRA BLOCK

ACROSS THE U.S., COMPANIES that sent their workers home in March to protect them from the coronavirus pandemic are gradually reopening. Most are implementing a long list of precautions, from requiring workers to wear masks to limiting capacity on elevators. But with coronavirus cases still rising in some parts of the country—and a vaccine months away— some workers are reluctant to go back to the office.

Which raises the question: If you don’t feel safe, can your employer require you to return to work? The answer depends on a number of factors, but your individual circumstances are most important, says Alison Green, founder of the Ask a Manager website (www.askamanager.org) and author of Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses and Other Tricky Situations at Work.

If you have a medical condition that puts you at high risk should you get COVID-19 (such as diabetes, heart disease or COPD), you have some protections under the American with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who are disabled. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employees with disabilities that put them at high risk for complications from the pandemic can request telework as a “reasonable accommodation” to reduce their chances of infection.