Employers Need to Prepare for Flu Season
The upcoming flu season will put any employee's work schedule you have to the test. Besides the three new strains of common flu, the more serious H1N1 (swine) flu strain is expected to spread quickly among children going back to school and among young adults. People caring for sick family members are being advised to stay home. As much as 40 percent of the workforce in the United States could be away from the job during the height of the flu season.
Employers will need to focus on how to keep their employees healthy, their operations going, and what to do if someone brings the virus in to work. Emphasize hand-washing, not coming to work when sick, and providing antiseptic hand gel and wipes to clean office equipment. Encourage employees to get vaccinated, and research where they can go to do that.
“We are preparing for an H1N1 vaccination campaign,” the CDC web site stated July 30, 2009. “We are making every effort to have a safe and effective H1N1 vaccine available for distribution as soon as mid-October, but it is possible, even probable, that epidemics may begin in different parts of the country before then. This makes prevention even more critical. Children are expected to be ill for eight days, and adults for 14. People will be home because daycare centers and schools will be closed.”
The key is making sure you've got supplies lined up. Have a ready stockpile of soap, water and antiseptic hand sanitizers (and) tissues; masks at some point might come into play. You also need the ability to communicate quickly—tell employees what the symptoms are, what the policy is, and if they are sick, to stay home.
RESOURCES FOR FLU FACTS & INFORMATION
General Business and Workplace Guidance for the Prevention of Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Flu in Workers
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/workplace.htm
CDC Changes Advice on How Long People with Flu Should Stay Home
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm
Flu.gov
Checklists, communications, guidance and links for employers from government agencies.
http://www.flu.gov/plan/workplaceplanning/index.html
Swine Flu Information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Vaccine recommendations, a state-by-state surveillance report and more facts and figures about the spread of H1N1 flu.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic
Detailed workplace-related guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) including checklists of actions employers can take to protect employees, maintain operations and address work-related travel.
http://www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/pandemicflu /index.html
EEOC Links
Employment Discrimination and the 2009 H1N1 Flu Virus (Swine Flu)
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/h1n1.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Human Resource Policies and Pandemic Planning addresses employer questions such as sending workers home, pay issues, working at home and social distancing.
http://www.flu.gov/faq/workplace_questions /human_resource_policies/index.html
World Health Organization – Swine Flu Updates
Daily updates, including data on confirmed cases by country.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu /en/index.html
CDC Travelers Health Home Page
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/
For more HR information or issues, contact Leslie Philbrook (SPHR) our Human Resources specialists at (510) 235-1044.
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