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E-Alerts

Responding Appropriately To The Influenza Pandemic Alert

The World Health Organization has raised its influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to 5, advising all countries to immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans.  This raises the question of how employers can protect their employees’ health and safety and, in turn, limit the impact of an influenza outbreak.

The following outline illustrates the measures that employers should consider as they develop and implement plans to deal with this situation.

1.   Update Key Policies:

  • Leaves of Absence
  • Communicable Diseases
  • Attendance
  • Pandemic Flu
  • Telecommuting
  • Flexible Work Arrangements
  • Military Leave (in case the National Guard or Army Reserves are called into action)
  • Travel

2.   Contact Insurers to Ensure Appropriate Coverage:

  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Health Insurance
  • Short-Term Disability
  • Long-Term Disability
  • Life Insurance

3.         Plan For The Impact Of A Pandemic On Your Business:

  • Identify a pandemic coordinator and/or team with defined roles and responsibilities for preparedness and response planning.
  • Identify essential employees who would be needed to maintain business operations during a pandemic.
  • Train and prepare others in the key functions of these employees so that they can immediately step in and provide assistance if needed.

4.         Plan For The Impact Of A Pandemic On Your Employees And Customers:

  • Forecast and allow for employee absences during a pandemic due to factors such as personal illness, family member illness, school and/or business closures, and public transportation closures.
  • Implement guidelines to minimize unnecessary contact among employees and between employees and customers.  Such guidelines, for example, might discourage hand-shaking and eliminate shared work stations to the extent feasible.
  • Encourage and facilitate annual influenza vaccinations for employees. 

5.         Allocate Resources To Protect Your Employees And Customers During A

Pandemic:

  • Provide sufficient and accessible infection control supplies (e.g., hand-hygiene products, tissues and receptacles for their disposal) in all business locations.
  • Enhance communications and information technology infrastructures to support employees who wish to telecommute and clients who wish to do business remotely, such as by replacing in-person meetings with telephone or video conferences.

6.         Communicate To And Educate Your Employees: 

  • Develop and disseminate programs and materials covering pandemic fundamentals (e.g., signs and symptoms of influenza, modes of transmission), personal protection (e.g., hand hygiene, coughing/sneezing etiquette) and response strategies (e.g., contingency plans).
  • Anticipate employee anxiety, rumors and misinformation and plan communications accordingly.
  • Ensure that communications are culturally and linguistically appropriate.

This list is intended to help employers at the beginning of their pandemic planning to get started, and to provide supplemental ideas for those whose planning is well under way.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if we can assist with updating policies or in any other way.