The Daily Bulletin Archive

Governor Cuomo has issued Executive Order 205, which requires individuals to quarantine for 14 days after traveling for 24 hours or longer to states that have a positive test rate for COVID-19 of higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10 percent positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average. The Department of Health (DOH) maintains a list of the specific states for which quarantine is required following travel for 24 hours or longer.

Effective immediately, the following rules apply to all state employees who travel to a state designated by the DOH that meets the criteria contained in Executive Order 205: 

1. If an employee commenced travel on or before June 25, 2020, agencies should determine if the employee returning to work can telecommute for the duration of the quarantine pursuant to the Executive Order. If the employee cannot telecommute, the employee shall be covered by any quarantine leave applicable to the employee under any law, rule, regulation, or policy. If no quarantine leave is available, the employee shall charge appropriate leave accruals.   
2. If an employee commenced travel after June 25, 2020, regardless of return date, agencies should determine if the employee returning to work can telecommute for the duration of the quarantine pursuant to the Executive Order. If the employee cannot telecommute, the employee shall be eligible to charge appropriate leave accruals but shall not be permitted access to quarantine leave under any law, rule, regulation, or policy.
3. These rules apply to employee travel to states that are added to the DOH list and posted on the DOH website after June 25, 2020. If a state is added to the list after an employee commences travel, the provisions of rule 1 above shall apply. If a state is added to the list on or before the date the employee commences travel, the provisions of rule 2 above shall apply. 
4. Rules 1-3 do not apply if an employee travels to a designated state as part of his or her employment or at the direction of the employee’s agency. If an agency orders an employee to travel to a designated state for work, the agency should first determine whether the employee can telecommute for the duration of the quarantine pursuant to the Executive Order. If the employee cannot telecommute, the employee shall be placed on quarantine leave at full pay without charge to accruals.  
5. Employees returning from a designated state who cannot telecommute and are deemed essential to an agency’s operations are eligible to return to work pursuant to the Interim Guidance for Public and Private Employees Returning to Work Following COVID-19 Infection or Exposure (PDF, 155 KB), issued by the DOH on May 31.

The list of affected states will be updated frequently and can be found on the Department of Health website. Employees planning to travel should review the travel advisory for the most up-to-date information.

As a reminder, requests for vacation and holiday leave must be requested in advance and approved by the supervisor.

Interim Guidance for Quarantine Restrictions on Travelers Arriving in New York State Following Out-of-State Travel (PDF, 168 KB)