Forgive me, but did you just say that a hospital is requiring an employee with a positive COVID test to return to work in the hospital? If nothing else, it sounds like a quick call to your local health department and the news will clear things right up.

And also, and I apologize if it’s already been mentioned here, I would immediately file paperwork with human resources for intermittent FMLA. Because I’ve known several people that have had Covid and the ones who have not passed from it have experience symptoms sometimes weeks or months after infection. Intermittent will protect you and your job and with you testing positive for Covid, they are in no position to deny it. But I would do that ASAP. That would be the absolute first thing I do right now. Again, I’m so sorry and I pray that you Get through it as quickly and painlessly as possible.

First of all, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. I would recommend that you look elsewhere because 30% of the United States job market is rehiring positions lost during Covid right now and it will ramp up again in July after the fiscal year starts. But no, although they are no longer required to pay you the 80 hours of sick pay to be off for Covid, they cannot require you back to work. Just get a note from your doctor and say that you are testing positive for Covid and under a doctors care for whatever period of time you need to Recuperate. I would highly doubt that they would terminate you but if they did, you would get unemployment. It’s crazy to me that employers are still acting like we’re not in a pandemic and treating their employees as though they were disposable. Not to mention the fact of their ability to require you to come to work and expose everyone else. :(

So very sorry to hear of your situation. There are so many that have been impacted by Covid & thank you for not spreading. It impacts everyone differently, some it is a week if they have conditions. Some for months, and even die. Being a hospital you would think every person that works there was well trained in protocol. Being a single parent & still having to take care of them while sick is so hard...I am there with you fortunately not sick w Covid. I am self employed after getting let go for the 1st time in my life. It was a huge scary step but I never wanted anyone to have control over my life again. If I was going to work hard should be for myself. I now offer LegalShield because I SO much could have used countless times throughout my life to find out what my options are by top rated attys nationwide & in Canada & UK. It would be nice to know for sure...everything found on Google is not always 100%. But then you know where you are. And no matter what if I am not appreciated for the hard work I do will go somewhere else where my contributions matter (definitely go thru the ranks to give current employer opportunity to know what is happening & do the right thing) under our plan if the atty feels like a lerter will help & there is a law violated that is included, plus they will review any documentation...if it needs to go further you could discuss that as well & make that determination if it is worth pursuing. I love that our plan is not just about law suits & they will not take meritous or frivolous cases. Another part I would highly recommend that again is part of our plan is getting your Will done so if something did happen to you even if you had to go to hospital it tells the courts to whom your 6 year old should go. That is so HUGE for single parents to get done as well as your Powef of atty for both your Healthcare decisions & financial so someone could take care of if you were not able to. Best of Luck to you. I hope you are not horribly sick & you heal completely from this but physically & mentally. It has been an awful position you have found yourself in. Prayers of strength & healing to you. If you would like to learn more about our plans: https://ReneeMcKnight.LadiesofJustice.com.

Be careful of any advice to go to your company's compliance office or to HR. They will NOT help you and will start looking for a performance-related reason to terminate you OR will find a way to make you so miserable that you quit. I agree with the earlier comment that you sound like an excellent employee for someone else. Demand in healthcare-related fields is huge so polish up that resume and start hunting for a new job today.

Do you have short term disability insurance? How does the company handle illness in general? Yes, get the doctor's note, and make sure it says you are not released for work of any kind for two working weeks, and that you'll be released thereafter at the physician's discretion. That means no work, period. A sympathetic doc may release with accommodation after the initial period, clearing the way for remote work. Change voice mail and email auto-responder to, "I am currently on medical leave. For immediate assistance, please contact Supervisor. If your matter is not urgent, I'll reply when I return to work." These steps provide some legal protections, as medical leaves/short term disability are considered sacred, and demands to return to work or even too-frequent phone calls constitute harassment. Fineable harassment. It's unfortunate you can't have a civilized conversation with your supervisor, whatever the reason. Pandemic fatigue is hitting hard, so protect yourself, while being as helpful as you can be. And when you feel a bit better, look for other work. All the best, rest and heal!

What state do you live in? I’m in California and they provide Covid paid time off up to 2 weeks. If you’re state does not offer that you may want to consider FMLA or PFL if they are offered in your state.

You have stated your boss wants someone in the office. Is your title and job description identical to others? Are there (6) Accountants or (6) Switchboard Operators who all have the exact same title, job description, seniority, union/civil service grade? Do any of your coworkers have illnesses that would not allow them to work in the office? If you have 5 senior switchboard operators and 1 junior, it could make sense that the junior is the one who has to be in the office. There may very well be a reason your boss selected you to be the person who goes into the office, have you asked your boss specifically why you are the person? If they are not able or willing to give you a reason, you have cause to approach Human Resources about this. If the reason given is anything related to seniority, grade, title, JD etc. you don't have reason. Discrimination has to be proven and you have to have a solid reason. By the way, being a parent is not a protected class so discriminating against parents is not something the company can be held liable for. You believe your job could be done remotely, if that is the case, then I would push your boss to understand what it is that the boss feels is not able to be done. You didn't mention if the boss is in the office. In my organization we have an employee who could not perform remotely, she needs direct supervision which means both she and her supervisor have to be in the office. When working remotely she gets work done but it is full of errors, possibly because she has too many distractions at home. When it comes to FMLA, as an employer over 500 your company is required to give you UNPAID time off (typically 12 weeks annually) to deal with your illness. If you have PTO that would be at the discretion of the employer to allow use during FMLA. You must have worked a minimum number of hours per year to qualify for FMLA.

Based on what you have said, it sounds like a form of discrimination. I would suggest checking your states labor laws and Rules regarding COVID. Also check your states FMLA guidelines and the federal FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act).