Few Employers Will Require Employees to Receive COVID-19 Tests, Hong Kong Partners Predict

Mayer Brown Employment & Benefits partners Duncan Abate and Hong Tran (both Hong Kong) predict few employers will move forward with mass employee COVID-19 testing. According to Duncan and Hong, once employers carry out individual risk assessments, many will likely avoid making testing a requirement, outside of those in the most at-risk industries.

In an October 13 HR Magazine article, Duncan and Hong lay out several important questions for employers to consider when deciding whether or not to implement COVID-19 testing for employees:

• Do testing benefits outweigh the negatives?
• If you decide to test, does the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) permit you to do so?
• What are implications of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO)?
• What about the Contract of Employment?
• Who pays for testing?

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