With the swine (H1N1) flu vaccine production running slower than anticipated, the hope that workplaces would avoid the full effects of a pandemic is slowly diminishing. Interesting, Connecticut is one of just 9 states that are not reporting a widespread swine flu outbreak (perhaps because the first wave hit the state fairly hard).
I've previously discussed this before, but there are some useful resources out there, several of which have been recently updated. Here are a few of the resources that I can recommend to continue staying on top of this subject:
Pandemicflu.gov - This is the government's central website for the flu and if you haven't checked it out recently, you're missing out on your tax dollars being put to good use.
Not be outdone among federal agencies, OSHA has updated their resources as well on guidance to keep workplaces safe and also to help with specific industries.
Overwhelmed? Well, that's natural. But there are some steps that employers can still take to get your workplace ready for this flu season.
Update (or create) a Business Continuity Policy with specific provisions for H1N1 flu.
Encourage employees to get flu shots (both seasonal and H1N1) as soon as possible. To the extent that you offer health insurance to employees, determine if those shots are covered under the appropriate plans. And consider offering flu shot clinics if you have the resources.
Clarify what your absence and illness policies will be. Consider having flexibility in this situation if you can to encourage employees who are sick (or who have someone that is sick in their household) to stay home.
Make sure your infrastructure can handle an increased telecommuting presence if need be.
Since my first post on H1N1 Influenza (a.k.a. Swine Flu, 2009 Flu, Mexican Flu -- or whatever else the CDC or WHO is now calling it -- [see UPDATE below on the preferred usage of the term H1N1]) on Sunday, nearly every media outlet has eitherhyped or overhyped the crisis. I've waited until week's end to try to see if we could get some proper perspective on things.
As of this afternoon,there are still no confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in Connecticut., but I'm not sure if we have yet gotten the perspective in focus yet, if the school closings this week are any guide.
But where does that leave most employers. If the traffic to this blog is any indication -- still scratching their heads. So, let me try to put some of the issues in a slightly different framework for employers to think about.
1. Preparation & Communication
While large corporations have likely had time over the last years to develop a crisis-management guideline to deal with natural disasters or pandemics, smaller companies haven't had that luxury. The CDC checklists should be required reading for most employers by now with notices available on their website as well. Employers should use their bully pulpit to convey accurate information to their workforce along with preventative measures that employees can implement on their own. For employee questions, this FAQ is a great place to start.
But beyond that, employers should think about (though not implement as of yet) what it's plans may be if this outbreak becomes more widespread and more serious. Will you allow for telecommuting? Is your infrastructure set up so that you have the capability TO telecommute? Will you implement special pandemic flu leave policies to prevent employees from infecting others in the workplace?
You don't need answers to all these questions yet but you should start to anticipate what those questions may be.
2. Addressing Day-To-Day Issues -- The sick employee or the closed school
Employers may have more practical considerations though that they will need to deal with. For example, if an employee's child becomes ill, can that employee take FMLA leave? (Probably, though review your policies.) If the employee is sick, can you ask that employee to stay home or work from home during the length of the illness (Maybe but again, check your policies.)
But a tougher question comes up when a school is closed. In that situation, parents may need to stay home or make arrangements to care for a healthy child. What then? John Phillips has some excellent suggestions here, which can be summed up in one phrase: Be sensible and flexible:
I’d be reluctant to fire an employee who stays home with a child whose school has closed because of swine flu. If you’re concerned about setting a bad precedent, I wouldn’t be too concerned. After all, a national health emergency has been declared. I’d be more concerned about bad publicity or a creative legal theory under which the employee might sue you.
Perhaps overlooked during most times, OSHA laws require employers to provide reasonably safe workplaces. What that will mean will depend on the type of workplace you have. Employers whose employees have a significant amount of interaction with the public may have different obligations from those employers whose employees sit in a cubicle for eight hours a day without much interaction with fellow employees, much less the public.
OSHA already has guidance on how a workforce can deal with a pandemic flu. While this contemplates a flu strain more virulent than the current strain appears to be, the documents can give employers a starting point as to the areas that they may want to address should the flu outbreak start impacting their workfoce.
As a result, the following guidance has been set up by the government as a starting point on what employees can do to keep the workplace safe:
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it;
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.;
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way;
Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them;
Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures;
Develop a family emergency plan as a precaution. This should include storing a supply of food, medicines, facemasks, alcohol-based hand rubs and other essential supplies.
But at this stage, I think that the question that most employers want answered is "What SHOULD I do?" For that, calm and deliberate thought and preparation -- not panic -- will help ultimately help employers make informed decisions.
(Photos courtesy of CDC's Public Health Image Library; Photo 1: 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program; Photo 2: Lab reviewing pandemic flu samples)
The news over the weekend suddenly took a serious and, for many, scary turn over the weekend with the prospect of a pandemic flu (known right now as Swine Flu) appearing more likely than it has been since the SARS outbreak several years back.
For employers, flu preparedness has been something that has been talked about for many years. But I'm taking a guess that for many employers, this was always something that they would get around to later.
So, regardless of whether this swine flu hysteria is for real or not (and note that no Connecticut cases have been confirmed), employers can and should take the time now to educate themselves about the resources out there and develop a contingency plan to adapt their business to the possibility of a flu epidemic for the weeks and months to come.
The government, fortunately, has been preparing for this possibility and there are already existing websites for employers to review.
Identify your company's essential functions, which might include accounting, payroll, and information technology, and the individuals who perform them. Cross-train employees to perform essential functions to ensure resiliency.
Plan for interruptions of essential governmental services like sanitation, water, power,
and transportation, or disruptions to the food supply. For example, your employees
might need back-up plans for car pools in case mass transit is interrupted.
Update sick leave and family and medical leave policies and communicate with employees about the importance of staying away from the workplace if they become ill.
A lot of what's going to happen over the next few weeks and months is still unknown right now. Add a deep recession to the mix and you don't need a crystal ball to know that things could get tricky fairly quickly.
In the upcoming days and weeks, I'll continue to update this blog with more information. For now, education and preparation are crucial to ensuring that your business can function during what may be a tough time ahead.
(Photo Copyright Daniel A. Schwartz 2009 - at Vermont State Fair)
ecticut., but I'm not sure if we have yet gotten the perspective in focus yet, if the school closings this week are any guide. 
employees have a significant amount of interaction with the public may have different obligations from those employers whose employees sit in a cubicle for eight hours a day without much interaction with fellow employees, much less the public.
n talked about for many years. But I'm taking a guess that for many employers, this was always something that they would get around to later. 
