Seimas Tends to Support Government in Mandatory Employee Testing on COVID-19 – Discussions Transfer to Committees

On Tuesday, the Seimas approved the proposed amendment with 71 votes in favor, 11 against and 32 abstentions. It will be considered further by the Seimas committees, and the project will be considered as a matter of special urgency at the proposal of the Government.

Seimas spokesperson Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, who chaired the session, reported that in such a case its adoption would be voted on Thursday.

Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys, who presented the project, stated that the objective of the project is to guarantee public health by declaring a quarantine or emergency situation in the country due to a contagious disease.

“After assessing the threat of a disease for which a quarantine has been issued, a health examination should be established in proportion to this threat due to a contagious disease for which an emergency or quarantine has been declared at the state level,” said A. Dulkys. .

The amendments state that the Government could, in an emergency, establish a list of jobs and areas of activity in which employees can work only if they undergo a prior assessment and then are periodically monitored for illnesses.

The minister argued that such regulation could not be considered a mandatory test, as employees who did not want to take the test could be assigned to work remotely.

“During the debate, all kinds of concepts are thrown into the public sphere, although I myself have never said the word ‘forced’, and we do not think that here human rights or freedoms are really being violated, I think these are very proposed proportionate, “he said. Dust.

“If there is an employee who does not want to do the test, there is the possibility of working remotely so that we can prevent outbreaks and outbreaks in organizations,” said the minister.

The amendments would also stipulate that in the event of a workplace outbreak, workers could also work only after they have been tested for disease. The National Center for Public Health will determine the list of personnel to be examined.

In the event that an employee refuses to be inspected on time without good reason, the employer must remove him from work and not pay him or be assigned to work remotely until the date of the inspection.

It also provides that additional medical examinations of employees due to contagious disease can be financed from the state budget in accordance with the procedure established by the Government.