If there's a flu outbreak of global proportions, is your workplace ready to handle it?
There have been four influenza pandemics in the last century, including this year's H1N1 outbreak.
Workplace pandemic planning and preparedness is critical so that business operations can continue, but employers must be careful not to violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Under the ADA, a company may not solicit information from an employee about a disability. When there are flu outbreak concerns, for example, do not ask employees if their immune systems are compromised, since they might have cancer or HIV/AIDS. It is acceptable to ask about cold or seasonal flu symptoms, since doing so is unlikely to bring out information about a disability.
Objective evidence
Regulations concerning medical examinations are also covered by the ADA. An enterprise is forbidden to require employees to undergo such exams unless they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. This would be the case if objective evidence offered a reasonable confidence level that a) the employee will pose a direct threat due to a medical condition or b) the employee's ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by a medical condition.
A direct threat is defined as a significant risk of substantial harm to the health and safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. If the Centers for Disease Control or state and/or local authorities decide pandemic influenza is significantly more severe than a seasonal influenza or the 2009 spring and summer H1N1 influenza, the pandemic influenza might pose a direct threat. This determination would provide the objective evidence required to mandate a medical examination or to ask a disability-related question of a staff member.
To prepare for pandemics, it's recommended that companies appoint a pandemic director or committee of employees with disabilities and/or knowledge of all equal employment opportunity laws.
When a pandemic hits
During an influenza pandemic, it is acceptable to implement infection-control procedures, such as standard hand washing, coughing and sneezing protocols, correct tissue use and discarding, and the use of personal protective equipment.
Businesses are permitted to ask workers who call in sick or are ill at work if they have influenza-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, a cough or sore throat. The company may require sick employees to take their temperatures, and sending them home is allowed.
Workers may voluntarily reveal that they have certain medical conditions or disabilities that increase their risks of influenza complications. Ask these employees to explain what accommodations they might need, such as the use of telecommuting, which can be a useful infection-control technique. Staff with disabilities may ask to work outside the office as a reasonable accommodation to decrease the possibility of infection during a pandemic.
If an influenza pandemic becomes more severe or serious, a company is allowed to ask disability-related questions or mandate medical exams of asymptomatic team members to identify those with a greater risk of influenza complications.
All medical information must be maintained in a confidential medical record, separate from an employee's personnel file, in order to comply with the ADA.
Mitigating risk
If the CDC or state/local public health officials advise people who travel to certain areas to stay home for several days to be certain that they don't exhibit pandemic flu symptoms, employers are authorized to ask employees if they recently visited those locations, even if recent travel was personal.
Following a pandemic outbreak, employers also may require associates who have been away from the workplace to provide doctors' notes regarding return-to-work fitness.
Smart corporations will devise a plan to assist in avoiding the spread of the influenza virus at work and to ensure nonstop operations if there is an outbreak.
Just be sure that your company's plan is in legal compliance.Lynne Haggerman, M.S., is president/owner of Lynne Haggerman & Associates LLC, a Springfield firm specializing in management training, retained search, outplacement and human resource consulting. She can be reached at
lynne@lynnehaggerman.com.
