Workplace Questions - FAQs:

• Where can I find a comprehensive set of questions and answers about workplace policies and practices during a flu outbreak?
• What should businesses do to prepare for a flu outbreak?
• What steps can businesses take to keep employees from getting sick, especially during a flu outbreak?
• May an ADA-covered employer send employees home if they display influenza-like symptoms during a pandemic?
• In light of the ADA requirements, how may employers ask employees about factors, including chronic medical conditions, that may cause them to miss work in the event of a pandemic?
• May an employer require its employees to wear personal protective equipment (e.g., face masks, gloves, or gowns) designed to reduce the transmission of a pandemic virus?
• May employers send employees home if they show symptoms of pandemic influenza? Can the employees be required to take sick leave? Do they have to be paid? May employers prevent employees from coming to work?
• Must an employer grant leave to an employee who is sick or who is caring for a family member that is sick?
• May an employer require an employee who is out sick with the flu to provide a doctor’s note, submit to a medical exam, or remain symptom-free for a specified amount of time before returning to work?
• Why should businesses have flexible leave policies or alternate work schedules during a flu outbreak?
• What additional steps should businesses and employees take if the flu becomes more severe?
• How will businesses know if the flu is more severe and they should consider taking additional action steps?
• Should persons responsible for hospital supplies management increase stocks of isolation masks, and/or isolation gowns?
• Is Federal or State assistance (i.e. tax credits or tax deductions) available to businesses that establish teleworking or other alternative work arrangements for employees during a pandemic?
• Does the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have workplace guidance and standards that cover pandemic influenza?
• Should doctors give the H1N1 vaccine to persons who have an allergy to eggs?
• During a pandemic, may an employer require its employees to adopt infection control practices?
• If I have a family member at home who is sick with novel H1N1 flu, should I go to work?
• What are the FDA requirements and recommendations for the food industry regarding workers who are sick?
• During an flu pandemic, can a healthy employee refuse to come to work, travel, or perform other job duties because of a belief that by doing so, he or she would be at an increased risk of catching the flu?
• May an employer require entering employees to have a medical test post-offer to determine their exposure to the influenza virus?
• May an employer encourage or require employees to telework (i.e., work from an alternative location such as home) as an infection control strategy?
• May employers change work hours/schedules to minimize contact between employees?
• In the event an organization bars employees from working from their current place of business and requires them to work at home, will employers have to pay those employees who are unable to work from home?
• May an employer rescind a job offer made to an applicant based on the results of a post-offer medical examination, if it reveals that the applicant has a medical condition that puts him/her at increased risk of complications from the flu?
• Can employees get money out of their pension plan if they need financial assistance?
• Is an employer required by law to provide paid sick leave to employees who are out of work because they have pandemic influenza, have been exposed to a family member with influenza, or are caring for a family member with influenza?
• Can an employee stay home under Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to avoid getting the flu?
• Will workers qualify for unemployment if an flu pandemic hits and their employer has to shut down operations?  
• During a pandemic, some employees may not be able to come to work because public transportation is not available. May an employer lay them off?  
• May employers fire employees (in non-health care sectors) if they refuse to follow the company’s rules to control infection and increase hygienic practices during a pandemic?
• May employers mandate employees stay home if they or members of their family are known or suspected to have the flu or been exposed to someone with the flu?   
• May an ADA-covered employer send employees home if they display influenza-like symptoms during a pandemic?
• May an employer covered by the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 compel all of its employees to take the influenza vaccine regardless of their medical conditions or their religious beliefs during a pandemic?
• Are there equal opportunity resources available that explains policies about working with disabled people and accommodation?
• For the purpose of estimating pandemic absenteeism levels, may employers obtain medical information about employees’ general health status to identify those employees who may be at a greater risk of contracting pandemic influenza?
• Could an organization be held liable if their employees or customers contract pandemic influenza while working at or visiting its place of business?
• What changes should be made, if any, to employee travel and what should be done to ensure employees living abroad are prepared?
• May and employer ask for employees' personal contact information, such as phone numbers, email addresses, or contacts where they may be if caring for family members? Can that information be shared with with other employees?
• When communicating with employees before, during, or after a pandemic, are there restrictions on the type of information that can be shared?
• If employees get the flu from contact with a customer or other employee, are they eligible for workers’ compensation?
• What health options would be available to employees if a company closes due to a flu outbreak?
• If a business temporarily closes during a pandemic, will there be any financial assistance program available from the federal government to help workers?
• Can employers close their place of business to employees or customers known to have contracted or to have been exposed to pandemic influenza?
• If individuals volunteer to a public agency, are they entitled to compensation?
• Can retirees’ health benefits be terminated or changed if their former employer is affected by a pandemic?
• If an employer’s place of business closes due to an influenza pandemic, who should employees or retirees contact to file a claim for pension benefits or ask questions about pension payments?
• Where can employees get more information on health coverage options?
• Does USERRA protect members of the National Guard who are activated under State law?
• Must an employer continue health insurance for an employee on military duty?
• Do members of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) have reemployment rights if they are activated because of a pandemic influenza outbreak?
• When an employee with disabilities returns from travel during a pandemic, must an employer wait until the employee develops influenza symptoms to ask questions about exposure to pandemic influenza during the trip?
• During a pandemic, may an employer ask an employee why he or she has been absent from work if the employer suspects it is for a medical reason?
• If an employer establishes a child care center at the workplace for children who have been dismissed from school, will it violate the CDC’s community social distancing strategies for children?
• What kinds of information should be conveyed to employees to prepare them for the issues that are likely to be of concern to them should a pandemic occur? What is the best way to communicate this information?
• During an influenza pandemic, do employers have to provide new accommodations for a person with a disability (e.g., special work hours) due to lack of public transportation or other similar circumstances? What are the organization’s obligations if it can no longer provide an accommodation (e.g., the sign language interpreter is home sick and no others are available)?
• Are employees still covered by the employer’s health plan if their worksite closes as a result of an influenza pandemic outbreak?
• What should an employer do if they believe employees at work have the flu?
• If the employer’s business is disrupted by the flu and health benefit payments are not being made on time, what should the employee do?
• A company is temporarily shut down and did not pay employees’ insurance premiums. Can the employees pay the premium to continue coverage?
• Should employers encourage employees to obtain seasonal flu vaccines and offer them in the workplace?
• What measures can employers adopt during a pandemic to alter the workplace and keep employees healthy?
• Does the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have workplace guidance and standards that cover respiratory protection?
• At work, they are putting together a team to develop Policies & Procedures. Do you have any suggestions?
• If a retiree’s pension payment does not arrive on time during an outbreak, what should he or she do?
• What legal responsibility do employers have to allow parents or care givers time off from work to care for the sick or children who have been dismissed from school?
• What types of policy options do employers have for preventing abuse of leave?
• If an employer lays off employees, will the employees be eligible for unemployment insurance? Will the employer’s unemployment taxes go up?
• If a business is open during a pandemic, can the employer fire or layoff a worker who cannot come to work because of a state, federal or locally ordered quarantine in the town where she lives? (This worker is neither sick, nor caring for a sick family member.)  
• If an employer faces economic difficulties as a result of an flu pandemic, can the employer terminate their pension plan, and if so, what happens to employees’ and retirees’ benefits? 
• Which employees are eligible to take Family and Medical Leave Act leave?
• May employers change their paid sick leave policy if a number of employees are out and they cannot afford to pay them all?  
• If an employer temporarily closes his or her place of business because of an flu pandemic and chooses to lay off some but not all employees, are there any federal laws that would govern this decision?  
• Some employees may not be able to come to work because they have to take care of sick family members. May an employer lay them off?  
• What notices must be given before an employee is terminated or laid off?  
• If employees are out of the workplace for an extended period due to pandemic influenza or caring for family members, will they qualify for any assistance under state or federal law (e.g., unemployment insurance)? What about workers’ compensation?
• Are employers required to provide employees with infection control supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent or slow the transmission of influenza?
• May employers require employees to supply their own “safety equipment” (e.g., surgical masks or respirators, latex gloves, etc)?
• An employee was laid off and did not receive his/her last paycheck. What remedies are available?
• Are there ADA-compliant ways for employers to identify which employees are more likely to be unavailable for work in the event of a flu outbreak?
• A mine operator may need to have a Ventilation Plan approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) or have MSHA issue a Mine ID before he can start mining. If there is a pandemic, will MSHA be able to issue approvals?
• What services may be available to help get a laid off worker back to work?
• May employers change their paid sick leave policy if a number of employees are out and they cannot afford to pay them all?
• How many hours is an employer obligated to pay an hourly-paid employee who works a partial week because the employer’s business closed?
• During a flu pandemic, may an ADA-covered employer take its employees’ temperatures to determine whether they have a fever?
• During a flu outbreak, must an employer continue to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with known disabilities that are unrelated to the pandemic, barring undue hardship?
• During a flu outbreak, may an ADA-covered employer ask employees who do not have flu symptoms to disclose whether they have a medical condition that the CDC says could make them especially vulnerable to flu complications?
• If individuals volunteer to a private, not-for-profit organization, are they entitled to compensation?
• What are the basic reemployment rights when an employee returns following military service?
• What is the law that applies to the job rights for National Guard and Reserve members being called up for active duty?
• Is an employer required to pay an employee while the employee is on military duty?
• Once a pandemic begins, may employers mandate alternative work schedules (e.g., flex-time, staggered shifts) or alternative work arrangements (e.g., telework) to promote social distancing?
• Could employers be held liable if employees are injured while teleworking?
• Can an employee be required to perform work outside of the employee's job description?
• May employers close lunch rooms and other gathering places to minimize contact between employees?
• Do employers have to pay employees their same hourly rate or salary if they work at home?
• May employers ask employees if they may have a higher risk of infection, for example, a compromised immune system?
• Before a flu outbreak, may employers survey employees to identify who may need to stay home, telework, or work an alternate schedule to care for children because they are dismissed from school or child care, consistent with the Community Mitigation Guidance from HHS/CDC?  
• During a flu outbreak, may an employer track whether or not employees and their family members or associates have contracted pandemic influenza? If so, and as part of that tracking, may the employer require them to disclose whether they have, or have been exposed to, pandemic influenza?
• May employers treat essential/critical employees different than other employees such as providing transportation to and from work or giving them antivirals when there is a limited supply?  
• Where can an employer or employee go for assistance concerning employment and reemployment rights for veterans or members of the Guard or Reserve?
• How many hours per day or per week can an employee work?
• If a worksite closes due to illness, how does an employee locate the plan administrator, or file a claim for benefits or obtain other documents, such as certificates of prior coverage or replacement identification documents?
• Can an employer terminate or reduce employees’ health benefits?
• What if an employee covered under the spouse’s group health plan loses his or her spouse because of the flu and the spouse’s employer agrees to pay the premiums for health coverage for 12 months. What effect will that have on any future eligibility for continuation health coverage under COBRA?
• Are businesses and other employers required to cover any additional costs that employees may incur if they work from home (DSL line, computer, additional phone line, increased use of electricity, etc.)?
• Do OSHA’s regulations and standards apply to the home office? Are there any other Federal laws employers need to worry about if employees work from home?
• May employers ask employees if they have children or other family members for whom they may need to take care of in the event of a pandemic (for example, if schools were closed)? May they be asked if they have someone else who can take care of these family members? May this information be shared with supervisors and managers?
• If an employee who has health coverage through a group health plan is laid off, will the employee be able to elect COBRA continuation coverage for himself or herself and his or her partner? (In this example, although the plan offers domestic partner coverage, the employee did not elect it for his/her domestic partner.)
• May an employer access employees’ medical information already in its possession for the purpose of pre-pandemic planning?
• As a manager or supervisor, may I tell an employee’s direct supervisor at my company or organization if I know for a fact that the employee has pandemic influenza?  
• What if an employee has asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to investigate because they believe it is unsafe to come to work or perform specific duties and claims retaliation if the employer takes action against them for refusing to come to work or perform these duties?