Coronavirus (COVID-19) is everywhere in the news and everyone is talking about it. The virus, which was first recognized in December 2019, has spread from its point of origin to nearly fifty countries by the beginning of March 2020. But for all the news coverage in the American media, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says there have been only fifty-three (53) confirmed cases in the United States, and only in one of those cases was the illness contracted by someone while in the United States. The rest are individuals who fell ill elsewhere before travelling to the US. While that number is certain to grow in the coming weeks and months, it pales in comparison to the number of Americans diagnosed with Influenza each year. For the 2019-2020 flu season, the CDC estimates there have been 29 million flu illnesses, and of those illnesses, there have been around 8,200 deaths. From an economic standpoint, influenza creates a substantial burden on Employers, with an estimated $21 billion in lost productivity each year.
It’s clear that influenza currently is a much greater risk to the average American than coronavirus. Fortunately, an employer’s preparation and response to both illnesses should be the same.
What to do if an Employee is Exhibiting Flu Symptoms
Most people have had the flu at one point in their lives. So, most people are familiar with the signs and symptoms exhibited by someone who is sick. When an employee begins exhibiting these symptoms, it’s important to send them home immediately. The flu can spread by direct contact with infected individuals but also by contact with contaminated objects like phones, door handles, and stairway handrails. The longer a sick individual remains in the workplace, the greater the risk that they spread the illness to other employees.
Undoubtedly, this will create hardship for some employers, many of whom are already understaffed in a tight job market. But these staffing issues will only get worse if a sick employee is required to remain at work and begins infecting other employees. Beyond practical considerations for employers, it is important for workplace morale for employee health and wellness to be seen by employees as a priority. The most important thing an employer can do in this respect is make sure an employee is not putting themselves or their coworkers at risk of getting seriously ill.
Many employers are already familiar with this procedure and regularly send sick employees home. But often employees don’t want to go home; they will insist they are not that sick, or that they can handle it, or that they have a lot of work to do. Like their more willing counterparts, it is important that these individuals go home to get better.
What to do before anyone is Exhibiting Flu Symptoms
There are also efforts employers can undertake prior to flu season to make sure the impact of an employee illness on the workplace is minimized. Here are a few suggestions.
First, neither federal law nor Ohio law require private employers to offer paid sick days to employees. The opposite is true for public employers in Ohio, most of which are required by Ohio law to offer sick leave to their employees. However, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does require most private and public employers to offer up to 12-weeks of unpaid leave for serious medical conditions suffered by an employee or their family members. While the typical flu may not qualify, if an employee begins experiencing complications (like pneumonia or they need to be hospitalized), their time away from work may need to be designated as FMLA leave. Each situation is different, and employers should contact their legal counsel if questions arise regarding eligibility for FMLA leave. But employers are advised to be on the lookout for situations involving the flu which might require designation as FMLA leave.
Whether paid sick time is or is not offered, employers should have clearly defined policies laying out the expectations for employees who are going to be out of work due to an illness. For instance, to cut down on sick leave abuse, many employers require a note from a doctor confirming the employee is suffering from an illness. While many employers are moving away from this requirement, it does not create a substantial burden on employees, who can usually get a note without much effort from a local urgent care clinic.
It is also important for employers to have clearly defined reporting procedures for an employee who is calling-in sick. It is not uncommon for employees to have multiple supervisors or managers to whom they report for various projects. Reaching these individuals to report their absence can be difficult, especially for a sick employee. As a result, policies directing an employee to a single individual, like a human resources manager, for reporting an absence can cut down on hassle for both the employer and the employee.
Employers should also consider offering employees the option of working from home. Remote work is gaining in popularity as technology makes it easier to gain access to important work documents and computer programs while away from the office. A recent study finds that 3.9 million workers in the US are working from home for at least half their work time, a 115% increase over the same time just over a decade ago. Remote work could be considered as an option for employees who are potentially sick as a precaution or for those employees who are recovering from the flu and are not yet ready to return to regular work. But employers should be cautioned that requiring an employee who is actively suffering from flu symptoms to work from home is a bad practice that will negatively effect workplace morale and potentially extend the amount of time an employee needs to recover.
If employees are offered the opportunity to work from home, employers should take care to have clearly defined and established policies for remote work. These should include policies on access to sensitive information, use of company equipment outside the workplace, and authorized access to company computer networks.
Each workplace is different and will require a unique set of solutions to ensure the flu season passes smoothly. The attorneys at Fishel Downey regularly work with employers in all aspects of their businesses, including managing employee leave. If you have a specific question, contact one of the attorneys at Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff LLP at 614-221-1216.