Wearables Could Be Key for Worker Safety as Warehouses, Manufacturers Eager to Reopen

Bracewell's Bob Nichols recently explained to Supply Chain Dive that monitoring employee’s health through the use of wearables could keep workers safe, but it creates a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act for employers.

Under the act, "you can't monitor health conditions or biometric conditions of your workforce," Nichols said, though that may change. Normally, the act includes temperature checks under that umbrella. But in March, the US Equal Opportunity Commission issued guidance that, for right now, employers can measure body temperature because a fever is a common symptom of COVID-19. Nichols said that's mostly happening before employees entire a warehouse or manufacturing facility.

Rules concerning biometric readings taken by wearables could be further relaxed in the future. "We don't know how far this will go," he said.

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