Brendan J. Lyons Times Union
June 27, 2020 Updated: June 27, 2020 1:23 p.m.
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Saturday issued an order that will close a loophole which made employers responsible to pay the salaries of workers who are in mandatory 14-day quarantine if they left the state for non-essential purposes, including taking a vacation.
The governor’s order was issued two days after the Times Union reported the loophole that was created when Cuomo issued an executive order requiring anyone who enters New York after visiting states with high rates of coronavirus to self-quarantine. The issue arose due to an earlier executive order he issued mandating employers pay their workers if they are in a required quarantine.
“Gaming the system and playing Russian roulette with their health is not how New Yorkers have been acting throughout this pandemic, but this will give employers piece of mind and as a reminder, everyone should continue to be smart, wear a mask and wash your hands,” said Cuomo senior advisor Richard Azzopardi.
The Business Council of New York State, which had been researching the fallout of the issue and had been receiving questions from its members about the quarantine order, said it was appropriate for the governor to fix the defect.
“We felt it was a common sense approach and we appreciate the governor’s office including this in the executive order,” said Patrick Bailey, a spokesman for the Business Council.
Many other governors have imposed similar mandatory quarantines for people visiting or returning to their states, but New York’s order imposes hefty civil penalties — up to $10,000 — for anyone who violates the requirement. Other states have made the orders “advisory.”
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