Equal Employment Opportunities - FAQs:

• 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?
• May employers ask employees if they may have a higher risk of infection, for example, a compromised immune system?
• 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?
• May an employer access employees’ medical information already in its possession for the purpose of pre-pandemic planning?
• 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?  
• 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?
• 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?  
• 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?
• When communicating with employees before, during, or after a pandemic, are there restrictions on the type of information that can be shared?
• 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)?
• 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?  
• May an ADA-covered employer send employees home if they display influenza-like symptoms during a pandemic?
• 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?
• 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?
• May an ADA-covered employer send employees home if they display influenza-like symptoms during a pandemic?
• During a flu pandemic, may an ADA-covered employer take its employees’ temperatures to determine whether they have a fever?
• 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?
• 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?
• 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 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?
• Are there equal opportunity resources available that explains policies about working with disabled people and accommodation?
• 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?
• 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 entering employees to have a medical test post-offer to determine their exposure to the influenza virus?
• During a pandemic, may an employer require its employees to adopt infection control practices?
• May an employer encourage or require employees to telework (i.e., work from an alternative location such as home) as an infection control strategy?
• Where can I find a comprehensive set of questions and answers about workplace policies and practices during a flu outbreak?