The Employer's Obligation of Health Oversight During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The importance of employers' obligation to protect the occupational health and safety of their employees has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected our country, as well as the entire world, and has led to numerous deaths. The "health surveillance" obligation, regulated by Article 15 of the Occupational Health and Safety Law (No 6331), states that it is the obligation of the employer to diligently protect employees and their workplace, especially against any outbreak. The health surveillance obligation depends on the kind of work performed at the workplace and is governed by many regulations. In this study, the duty, authority, and responsibility of workplace doctors that are regulated by the law are analyzed, and the legal procedure that workplace doctors and employers can apply to protect the health and safety of the employees during the COVID-19 pandemic are investigated. Moreover, the legal procedures that employers can apply if an employee avoids health checks during a pandemic and those that the employees can pursue in case of clear and imminent danger that they could be exposed to because of the noncompliance with the rules and regulations on the part of the employers are explained from a legal perspective.