Q. I own a recruiting firm, and I employ about 50 employees. Are there steps I should be taking to prepare for the Swine Flu?
A. Yes. Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. In the event of an influenza pandemic, employers will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as in limiting the impact on the economy and society.
Employers will likely experience employee absences, changes in patterns of commerce and interrupted supply and delivery schedules. Proper planning will allow employers in the public and private sectors to better protect their employees and lessen the impact of a pandemic on society and the economy.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed pandemic influenza planning guidance based upon traditional infection control and industrial hygiene practices. It is important to note that there is currently no pandemic; thus, this guidance is intended for planning purposes and is not specific to a particular viral strain.
Additional guidance may be needed as an actual pandemic unfolds and more is known about the characteristics of the virulence of the virus, disease transmissibility, clinical manifestation, drug susceptibility, and risks to different age groups and subpopulations.
Employers and employees should use this planning guidance to help identify risk levels in workplace settings and appropriate control measures that include good hygiene, cough etiquette, social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, and staying home from work when ill.
See OSHA's Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic here.
Up-to-date information and guidance is available to the public through the www.pandemicflu.gov website.
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