The outbreak of the Coronavirus has triggered a number of employment and labor law implications – – as would any pandemic that impacts the workplace. 

This issue is obviously one that touches on a number of different legal fields, with labor and employment law included.  And there are definitely workplace issues that arise beyond the questions of employees becoming ill at work, wanting to work from home, and compensation for sick leave.  

As the deadly coronavirus becomes a global pandemic, companies like Apple and Starbucks have stopped operating in China, and others, like Sony and Amazon, have pulled out of global trade shows like this month's World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.

But some experts have cautioned that the threat of outbreak beyond China is unlikely, and not all firms are taking such precautions. This raises questions about what obligations companies have to their employees, and whether employees can refuse travel as the virus spreads.

The short answer, according to legal experts, is that workers can't cite the coronavirus outbreak as a reason not to carry out their ordinary duties—including duties that involve general travel. While a federal law called the Occupational Safety and Health Act offers some protection to workers who refuse to work in the face of danger, those protections are unlikely to apply—at least for now.

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