Workplace Virus-Exposure Alerts Depend on Identity Safeguards

Employers face privacy restrictions on disclosure of medical information that complicate efforts to notify workers about possible coronavirus exposure in the workplace, lawyers said.

Some companies, including General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., have contact-tracing programs in place for workers who test positive for Covid-19, and many other businesses are contemplating such a safeguard as part of return-to-work planning. But while federal workplace regulators gave employers the go-ahead to test workers for the disease because it’s a “direct threat” to worker safety, protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act still apply to how the results are handled.

“The ...