Good points! I appreciate the constructive conversation. #1 Would we have the right to challenge it? I guess that would be up to the Union to defend us on. So I see that would giving the company an avenue to send us home. So that's a negative. #2 Would we have to prove we have a normally high temperature? Yeah maybe we would. Why is this their business? Well its their company "business" I think they have the right to know if sick people are coming into work that could infect others and hurt their business.
What are the privacy concerns? I'd like to go on about them.
On a scale what is the level of invasion?
I don't think temperature taking is necessarily high on any scale of privacy invasion, but the fact that it registers is good enough for me to be against it. It's private information that companies have no legitimate claim to, and once it is out of your control, it can be used to justify taking action against you that may not be in your interest. It also puts you in a position of having to either accept the company's decision, or divulge more private information to defend yourself.
Having an elevated temperature does not necessarily mean you have a communicable disease. This could give a company the right to arbitrarily tell you to go home without proof that you are, in fact, a threat to work place safety.
Furthermore, where does it end? Will this continue after the pandemic and companies will force people to go home if they have some sniffles? I can personally attest to the fact that my sinuses have been far more congested since being required to wear a mask at work. Almost makes it seem like I have a good portion of symptoms of covid. Will allergies be a reason to send someone home unless they prove they have allergies? Will a seasonal cold? The flu? What about someone whose immune system isn't responding properly, has and is contagious with covid, and gets a pass because no fever? Asymptomatic spread? Hell, seems to me like no one should ever work again because it is always possible they could be spreading something.
The whole thing is absurd and completely unsustainable. There will always be risks involved in working around others. Trying to eliminate all risk us a fool's errand, and if it becomes the number one focus, then all industry will have to be shut down.
Again, companies harassing people about taking sick time is a real problem. We should start by focusing on that instead of going straight to invading people's privacy.
