HOUSTON – Got plans to travel or go to a big party over the holidays? You better make sure your boss is okay with it.
Some of you are asking what your employer can legally control when it comes to your holiday plans during the pandemic. To find out, we reached out to employment attorney Rogge Dunn of the Rogge Dunn Group in Dallas for answers.
Dunn said that employers have a lot of leeways when it comes to controlling or restricting their employees’ behavior even outside of the workplace.
“They can tell you not to travel, not to gather in large groups and if they see that you are. Like on social media, they can order you to quarantine or discipline you,” Dunn explained.
He says it’s the same as the employment clauses some companies use to control your decorum outside of the workplace. Some businesses call them “moral clauses.”
As long as the employer is not discriminating and applying the same policies to men, women and all protected classes, they absolutely can legally control your holiday plans.
And yes, when the vaccine is available, Dunn says your employer can require you to get it. He explains that here.