The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has updated its guidance for preparing for and responding to the 2009 H1N1 flu virus (formerly known as swine flu) without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Download NowThe EEOC's Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act addresses frequently asked questions about pandemic planning in the workplace. In the guidance, the EEOC answers questions about employer practices before, during, and after a pandemic, discussing how employers can prepare and respond without violating the ADA . For example, the agency addresses the following questions
- How much information may an employer request from an employee who calls in sick, in order to protect the rest of its workforce when an influenza pandemic appears imminent?
- When may an ADA-covered employer take the body temperature of employees during a pandemic?
- Does the ADA allow employers to require employees to stay home if they have symptoms of the pandemic influenza virus?
- When employees return to work, does the ADA allow employers to require doctors' notes certifying their fitness for duty?
The guidance was updated in October.
Because of the spread of the H1N1 flu, the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert from stage 5 to stage 6 in June, declaring the first pandemic since 1968. Phase 6 is characterized by community level outbreaks on more than one continent. As of October 9, there were 375,000 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu and over 4500 deaths reported worldwide.
HR.BLR.com's Pandemic Planning Resource Center has dozens of resources to help prepare your workplace for H1N1 flu, including checklists, policies, posters, and training.