Owners Need to Protect Employees from H1N1

The first available vaccinations for the H1N1 swine flu are still several weeks away, but the U.S. government has given some guidance to business owners on how to protect employees and customers.

The Centers for Disease Control is predicting more communities will be impacted this fall and winter as flu season gets into full swing, compared to last spring when the new flu first hit. The severity of this year's flu season is impossible to determine, but by the beginning of September, more than 9,000 hospitalized cases of H1N1 swine flu had been reported in the United States, with almost 600 of those resulting in death, according to the CDC. State health officials in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina have reported widespread influenza activity, which is unusual for this time of year.

In light of these numbers, it is being strongly suggested businesses have a plan in place if a pandemic occurs.

No one plan is being considered for all businesses since some regions of the country may be impacted more than others. Businesses are being told to pay attention to local news and formulate a strategy based on those numbers. Some things should be considered, however, including communicating the plan to employees, protecting staff (especially those with other health concerns) and reducing the transmission rates among workers. Keeping track of local hospitalization and death rates, number of people sick in the community and impact on other business communities can be monitored through close communication with local and state health officials.

To begin with, owners and managers should be aware of normal rates of absenteeism among workers and institute a way to determine if rates are unusually high this fall and winter.

Should the swine flu strike an area particularly hard, owners need to make sure continuity remains intact despite high levels of employee absenteeism. If possible, employees should learn the duties of other workers in case they need to fill in during an emergency. According to suggestions by federal officials, all sick employees should stay home during a flu pandemic. Washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes and routine cleaning of equipment should be encouraged. Employees should also be encouraged to get H1N1 swine flu vaccinations when available.

If an outbreak of swine flu is worse than last spring's event, more extreme measures may be necessary. Businesses should be ready for sudden, mass closings of schools and parents needing to leave to pick up their children. As with similar guidelines for schools to deal with the H1N1 flu, businesses may consider screening employees as they come through the doors and sending home those who exhibit flu-like symptoms. Set up a system where workers who are sent home, and who are able to, can work from home for a period of days.

It is unlikely every contingency will be covered, but it is the responsibility of owners and managers to protect their employees from a pandemic emergency as best they can, and a multi-level plan can be the first part of that protection.

Sources:

http://pandemicflu.gov/professional/business/guidance.htmlwww.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/