Last month, the Chicago Department of Public Health issued an Emergency Travel Order directing travelers entering or returning to Chicago from states experiencing a surge in new COVID-19 cases to quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the state. This included both Chicago residents returning from travel to a designated state, and travelers arriving in Chicago from a designated state.
The list of designated states is updated every Tuesday and goes into effect that Friday. As of this Friday, August 28th, the following states and U.S. territory will be covered under the Emergency Travel Order: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. Additional information on the Emergency Travel Order, as well as the regularly updated list of designated states, can be found here: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/emergency-travel-order.html.
City employees, like all residents and visitors, are subject to the Emergency Travel Order. If an employee travels to a designated state, they are required to quarantine for 14 days upon return. The following guidelines apply to City employees returning from travel to a designated state:
- If an employee’s position allows them to telework, they should continue teleworking as normal during the quarantine period.
- For employees who cannot telework:
- If the employee was traveling before the Tuesday that the state was added to the list of designated states and returns to Chicago within 1 week of that designation, quarantine time will be covered under the COVID-19 Sick Leave Policy Addendum, which means that the employees will not have to use his or her time to cover the quarantine.
- If the employee began their travel after the Tuesday that the state was added to the list of designated states or does not return within 1 week of that designation, the employee may use leave time granted under federal regulations related to COVID-19 if the employee is eligible for such leave, or their own benefit time, including regular sick or vacation time, to cover the quarantine.
- If you need to travel for emergency reasons, such as medical treatment or a family funeral, you should notify your HR staff of the need to travel prior to traveling and provide reasonable documentation supporting the need for the travel. In such cases, your quarantine time may be covered under the COVID-19 Sick Leave Policy Addendum.
Please contact your department’s HR staff with any questions.
Thank you for your continued compliance with the Emergency Travel Order and for all your efforts to maintain a safe and healthy workplace.