Since the pandemic began, Exelon has been working to get reliable COVID-19 tests for our employees, but tests were scarce and mainly prioritized for healthcare workers. Fortunately, while supplies remain somewhat limited, we now have enough tests to establish a company-wide testing protocol for non-remote-enabled employees.

Exelon’s testing strategy at this time focuses on keeping employees and contractors safe, as well as reducing anxiety and quarantine time for those who have symptoms or who’ve had contact with a confirmed case. Occupational Health Services (OHS) developed these protocols based on business and employee needs, and availability of test kits. Additional testing may be conducted as tests become more available.

Who Gets Tested?

The company’s employee testing protocols fall into the following areas:

• Reactive testing for employees and contractors who develop symptoms while at a work location and any employees and contractors with whom they had close contact.
• Proactive testing for employees and contractors who are supporting an outage in Exelon Generation this fall or later. 
• As-needed testing for employees prior to sequestration, primarily triggered by an increase in employee absenteeism. At this time, sequestration is not necessary for any employee group.
• Other limited circumstances as determined by OHS.

If OHS asks you to be tested, you need to be tested in order to either be released to continue working or be eligible for COVID-19 pay continuation. This includes employees who are on quarantine due to their own confirmed or suspected exposure. Your eligibility to be paid during quarantine will be conditioned on getting tested and providing any documentation required by OHS. OHS will provide you with all of the necessary testing details and has made arrangements to make it convenient for employees to be tested either by OHS or a third-party service.

What Kind of Tests?

OHS has determined that a nares (nasal) or saliva test is most appropriate for Exelon. Unlike the tests used at the beginning of the pandemic, these tests are more available, accurate, and comfortable for the person being tested and safer for the tester because they don’t prompt sneezing or coughing when administered.

OpCos will be sharing more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, you can check out this Q&A for more information.