Coronavirus Resources

Coronavirus Resources for Dealers

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TOP 10 QUESTIONS DEALERS ARE ASKING

1. What if a dealership employee has Coronavirus?

Tell sick employees to stay home! If a sick employee comes in, send them home.

If a dealership employee is confirmed to have Coronavirus, dealers must inform all employees of their possible exposure but you should not tell other employees which employee has the virus. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits disclosing any employee’s confidential medical information, including whether they have an infectious disease.

If an employee is infected while on the job, the dealership must include this in its OSHA recordkeeping.

2. What steps should a dealership take if an employee or customer is notified that they have been in a public place where there has been a confirmed coronavirus case?

The first step is to send home an employee who has contracted the virus. Dealers then should follow directions of their local health department or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

3. What steps should a dealership take if an employee suspects they have been exposed to the virus?

To contain the spread of the coronavirus, you should actively encourage sick employees to stay home. If employees have symptoms of an acute respiratory illness (e.g., fever, cough, shortness of breath), you can ask them not to return to work until they no longer have a fever for at least 24 hours.

4. Does the dealership have to pay employees while they are out sick or quarantined?

Westchester and NYC dealers have paid sick time policies. Dealers operating in Westchester and New York City must follow mandated paid sick time rules in effect in those locations.  Other dealers should follow their existing sick leave policies.

You should permit employees to use any paid sick leave time for illness or quarantine. Employees may elect to use other PTO or vacation leave. Even if employees do not have enough paid sick time to cover the entire duration, dealers should strongly consider paying them for the entire leave time. If employees cannot afford to be out, they will come into work while sick, which poses a potential costly risk to your entire business.

Additionally, New York has waived the 7-day waiting period for people who are out of work due to closures or quarantines related to the Coronavirus.

Paid Family Leave and FMLA leaves of absence rules remain in effect. The proposed federal legislation also calls for FMLA to be paid and reduces the time to qualify for eligibility.

5. Does the dealership have to pay employees if it must close for a day or two to disinfect the dealership?

Salaried employees must be paid their normal salary for weeks in which they perform any work but hourly employees do not have to be paid. You can give employees the option of using accrued time off.

6. Does the dealership have to pay employees if it is required by a Government order to close for several weeks?

There is not a legal obligation to do so but dealers should check their insurance policies to see if there is any assistance available to them. It is possible, but presently unknown, whether the state or federal government will provide any sort of assistance in this area.

7. How should dealers pay commission-based employees who must use sick or vacation time for quarantine, illness, or the public-health closure of their child’s school or daycare?

Dealers should continue their standard practice of sick or vacation pay for commission-based employees.

New York City’s Sick and Safe Time Law says commission employees must receive at least the higher of their base or minimum wage, which is $15.00 an hour.

8. How can dealers confirm that an employee who calls out has Coronavirus?

If an employee requests time off, dealers may ask if they are experiencing symptoms of Coronavirus, which are influenza-like symptoms, such as fever or chills and a cough or sore throat. Information about the employee’s illness must be treated as confidential.

9. What if a dealership salesperson will not go on a test drive with a potential customer?

Dealers should try to accommodate the employee and offer to send another available employee. Employees must be cautioned however that they may not refuse to assist customers based upon the customers’ ethnicity or other circumstances that can be considered discriminatory. 

10. What legal issues should dealers keep in mind?

While Coronavirus has been confirmed in certain populations, do not allow your employees to treat members of these populations differently, this would be discrimination that could lead to a lawsuit.




Coronavirus Resources Overview