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At 3:06 p.m. on April 8, the city of Indianapolis will experience its first total solar eclipse in 819 years. The so-called “path of totality” will cut a huge swath from the southwestern tip of Indiana to the state’s east-central border region, with Vincennes, Bloomington, Franklin and New Castle each experiencing just over four minutes of totality. Our capital city will itself have three minutes and 49 seconds when the moon blocks the sun’s face as it passes between the sun and the Earth. During totality, if skies are clear, the sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk and the sun’s bright atmosphere (the “corona”) will be visible around the dark moon.
As an attorney who advises employers, the impact of this rare celestial event on Indiana’s employers has been on my mind. You may be wondering why, since the event will last just a few minutes. There are several reasons that the 2024 eclipse could affect employers with operations that lie in the path of totality. The first is that the total solar eclipse is likely to draw thousands of visitors who want to experience totality. Indeed, the 2024 eclipse may be an even bigger draw than the total solar eclipse in 2017 (when the path of totality fell across the country’s western states) because the sun’s activity level will be at its peak in April. This means that “the corona will appear larger and have more outflows and spikelike structures than in an eclipse during quieter solar conditions,” according to “Scientific American.”
That the eclipse will occur on a Monday may also boost the number of viewers who decide to make a long weekend of the event. Still, many eclipse viewers will undoubtedly arrive and depart central Indiana on the same day, and they are sure to clog Indiana’s major roadways in the process, as my sister and her family discovered in 2017. They trekked from their home in New Mexico to view the 2017 total eclipse in Casper, Wyoming. After enjoying the wondrous sight, they found themselves on roadways packed with other departing eclipse viewers. Although totality occurred shortly before noon and their plan was to make the 10-hour trip home the same day, the post-eclipse traffic was so congested that it took them nine hours to go a distance that should have taken them only three hours, necessitating last-minute scrambling for overnight lodging.
In light of that anecdote, businesses would be well advised to avoid scheduling in-person business meetings in the path of totality on Eclipse Day, as the company representatives and their business guests may find themselves stuck in hours of standstill traffic. Having employees work from home would be a smart move in industries where that is possible. Many area schools have already called off classes for the day, and this could result in employees with school-aged children requesting the day off if they are unable to find backup child care. Should employers decide to close operations for the day, it is important to remember that docking exempt employee salaries is not permitted.
Second, employers whose business involves outdoor labor, such as construction, agriculture, transportation, utilities, landscaping and so forth, will need to consider potential safety issues resulting from the influx of visitors and unsafe eclipse viewing. Out-of-town visitors may wander into construction sites or other work spaces and get in the way of productive work. Moreover, employees who are working outdoors during the eclipse are susceptible to significant eye injury. According to NASA, “Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing.” As such, employers should consider purchasing eclipse viewing glasses for their employees and instruct them to wear the glasses during the eclipse’s partial phases leading up to and after totality to avoid eye injuries. Eclipse glasses are relatively inexpensive, can be bought in bulk and will help avoid worker’s compensation claims by employees who are working during the eclipse.
Finally, some employers in the path of totality will naturally be looking to capitalize on out-of-town visitors inundating the area on April 8. Food and lodging establishments are expected to be busy catering to the eclipse viewers and are no doubt looking forward to a boost in sales. These employers should make plans in advance to secure their establishments and allow staff to head outside — with eclipse glasses in hand — when the time comes to view totality.
As lawyers, we, too, should consider our plans for the 2024 eclipse. Due to traffic congestion and safety, we should avoid in-person depositions, visits to client sites or other work-related travel on April 8, if at all possible. The difficulty jurors and witnesses may face getting to and from the courthouse may be grounds to seek continuances of trials that day.
If we take these steps, we will get to enjoy an event that hasn’t occurred here for more than 800 years. Of course, a sunny day in early April in Indianapolis is almost as rare … .•
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Germaine Winnick Willett is a senior counsel at Ice Miller LLP. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
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