So Upset and Shocked

Are they allowing people to quarantine for 14 days if they leave? That seems like a pretty unreasonably harsh rule. What if there’s a death in the family? Does your fiancé have enough time to take out of work if they allow him to quarantine for 14 days?

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He would have to quarantine for 14 days if he were to leave, but he has only been with the company for a couple of months and hasn't accrued enough time to take that much time off from work.

Can he talk to a supervisor about the situation? I feel because it is such short notice and weddings are planned so far in advance (and can be so costly to postpone), they would try to work something out with him. If not, maybe check with a lawyer to see if his job would even be able to legally take action or fire him for still going.

I don’t see how a company can enforce such a harsh rule. I would hope they would be understanding of your situation, and allow him to work from home for two weeks upon arriving back in your state. If they were to take such a drastic measure as to fire him, I would think your fiancé would be able to take some sort of legal action.

Are you sure it’s not a business related travel ban? Like the business can’t be going on business trips? This is a lot odd and harsh for them to do.

Did they know about the wedding beforehand? I would speak to the HR department to see if they can make an exception. I’d even throw out there you would work from home or quarantine when you all got back to be on the safe side. I think that’s really ridiculous to do to someone right before their wedding. Especially if they knew about it.

I’m a little confused... What type of work does he do that makes him disclose everywhere he goes and everything he does? How is his company dictating his weekend/personal activities that are done outside of work? Why does the job even know details about your wedding and that your wedding is out of state? I mean, what if your wedding got postponed (his work shouldn’t be in his business to know if it did or not). How can they prove what he did/does on the weekend? They shouldn’t ask or know what happens in his non-work free time. What is the job imposing as the consequence for traveling?

I work at a hospital and even they are not allowed to put restrictions on what we do outside of work. They can make recommendations and suggestions. As everyone has said I would have him talk with HR first and see what can be done. If you're traveling by car and not going to a COVID hotspot he should be fine. I like the idea of work from home for 14 days if that is an option for him.


Good luck, breath. You got this!

Ugh, I'm so sorry. It seems so strict, but depending on what state you're in, this can definitely be common. My father works at a hospital and had to sign an official letter which mandated that he is not allowed to leave the state due to Covid until further notice. I have two friends who had to sign similar letters as well who do not work in healthcare. However, I think your FH should talk to his supervisor and explain the situation. I mean, unless you're having a large wedding with 100+ guests and no social distancing, then I think a reasonable supervisor may be inclined to make an exception. Best of luck

It's actually really common for workplaces to put travel bans in place. Some jobs are very strict, some are restricted for business-related travel, and others have a mandatory quarantine upon your return.


I would have him check with his company and figure out what type of travel ban is in place. He can also submit evidence that he's getting married out of state and he's unable to reschedule. He should start with his direct manager and go from there. I wouldn't go straight to HR first (they are the company's friend, not yours). If his manager is on his side (time off is already approved, manager was aware that he's getting married, he addressed his concerns with manager immediately after recieving email), he'll have a better go with HR. But if his manager isn't on his side then yes, go to HR with the facts/evidence.

Also make sure he has a concrete plan on how he will continue to meet his deadlines before talking to anyone. Things like, bringing laptop home, having secure wifi and VPN, how often he'll check in with his manager, how he'll document his work and hours, how he'll be readily available via phone and email during work hours, etc. Presenting this well-thought out plan will help his job feel confident that he is a dedicated employee and business won't stop or drop off while he's home for 14 days. Good luck!

Can he get a Covid test once you return from out of state?

I agree are you sure it isn’t business related?

That sounds odd. Where are you located? In the US, the only organizations that I can see being legally able to enforce such a "ban" are branches of the military. No private organization can ban their employees from traveling at all.

The most they can do is require a traveling employee to quarantine or be tested before returning to work, and to ban work related travel (which my own company did for the last several months). I would suggest getting clarification from your fiance's employer.

For some legal back up on this subject, https://www.natlawreview.com/article/faq-employee-travel-during-covid-19. In the US, employers cannot legally enforce a travel ban on employees' personal travel outside work, especially when there is no official/government travel restriction in place for the destination. For anyone who's employer is trying to do this, I suggest looking into the legality of any "signed agreements" or employer issued restrictions for your state.

I'm sure his Company cannot prevent him from traveling for personal reasons, but they canhave rules about self-quarantine upon return. They have an obligation to protect others in the workplace and restrict who is permitted to be there.

Best thing to do is to speak with his supervisor and HR regarding the situation and see what steps he should take. It may mean two weeks of unpaid leave if he doesn't have enough PTO.

The worst thing he could do is say nothing, and try to get around the requirements his employer may have put into place. That would be grounds for dismissal, if the rules in place are not against the law or public policy...and honestly, there are a lot of rules and requirements employers can now put in place to protect workers.

I'm so sorry you are having to go through this. It is kind of hard for me to see how his company can forbid him from traveling for personal reasons. I know all companies are different but I work for a corporate company and throughout COVID-19 the only thing my company has done was stop sending those who travel within my company - like our VP's and other Executives - to our other locations across the country for work. All of our VP's and Executives were working from home up until our site reopened and we all returned to work last month (we closed at the end of March and came back June 1st). Our HR department and our President & CEO did send emails to employees suggesting us not to travel for personal reasons during the pandemic, but said that if we did, and if we went to a location that was considered a "hot spot" by the CDC that, upon our return we should contact HR and self quarantine for 14 days. If we experienced symptoms of COVID-19, we were told to remain home, contact our HR department and we could not return to work until we provided a negative COVID-19 test result - this part about remaining home is still in effect today even if we are not traveling. Our company also says if we come into contact with anyone who has the virus or who is experiencing symptoms to also stay home and self-quarantine as a precaution.

I understand you FH is new to his company, but this does seem a little extreme and possibly illegal if they are forbidding their employees to travel for personal reasons. Companies cannot control what their employees do or where they go outside of work.