Managing Your Workforce During the Ebola Outbreak: Impact on Leave - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Managing Your Workforce During the Ebola Outbreak: Impact on Leave Policies, Privacy Laws and More Tara A. Aschenbrand tara.aschenbrand@squirepb.com Meghan E. Hill meghan.hill@squirepb.com

Presenters Meghan E. Hill Tara A. Aschenbrand Senior Associate Principal, Columbus, Ohio USA Columbus, Ohio T: +1 614 365 2713 New York, New York E: tara.aschenbrand@squirepb.com T: +1 614 365 2720 T: +1 212 407 0105 E: meghan.hill@squirepb.com squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 2 2

Agenda  Ebola Background and Status  Legal Considerations  Occupational Safety & Health Administration  Americans with Disabilities Act  Practical Tips and Scenarios squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 3 3

EBOLA squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 4 4

Statistics and Response  In Western Africa (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone)  As of November 14, 2014, there have been over 14,000 cases of Ebola; approximately 5,000 of those who have contracted the disease have died.  In the United States  On September 30, 2014, the CDC confirmed the first travel-associated case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States. Thomas Eric Duncan traveled from West Africa to Dallas, Texas. He passed away on October 8. • Two healthcare workers who treated Duncan tested positive for Ebola, were treated, and have since recovered. • All passengers and crew on flights taken by an exposed worker were monitored and cleared.  New York City’s first case: Dr. Craig Spencer recovered and was discharged from Bellevue Hospital Center on November 11, 2014.  On November 17, 2014 Dr. Martin Salia passed away at Nebraska Medical Center from Ebola. He contracted the virus while treating patients in Sierra Leone. squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 5 5

Statistics and Response  CDC has issued a Warning, Level 3 travel notice, advising U.S. citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. CDC recently issued an Alert, Level 2 travel notice for Mali.  Travelers arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea are now arriving to the U.S. at one of five airports where entry screening is being conducted, and those travelers will be actively monitored daily by state and local health departments for 21 days from the date of their departure from West Africa.  As of November 17, travelers arriving in the U.S. from Mali will be subject to the same policies as those from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.  California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Ohio all have some form of mandatory quarantine.  Kaci Hickox, first aid worker, was initially quarantined in Maine, but a judge later reversed the state’s in-home quarantine order. squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 6 6

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)  Symptoms of Ebola include  Fever  Severe headache  Muscle pain  Weakness  Diarrhea  Vomiting  Abdominal (stomach) pain  Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)  Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days. squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 7 7

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Cont’d  Ebola is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth) with  blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola  objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus  Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or in general, by food.  Healthcare providers caring for Ebola patients and the family and friends in close contact with Ebola patients are at the highest risk of getting sick.  Once someone recovers from Ebola, they can no longer spread the virus. squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 8 8

Risk Management  Review information on Ebola regularly  Status of outbreak: CDC, state Department of Health, WHO  Regulations/directives potentially affecting employers: OSHA, EEOC, DOL  Travel restrictions/advisories for employees travelling near, to or through affected areas: State Department, FAA, airports  Educate employees, particularly those who will travel to, near, or through affected areas, about Ebola. Consider posting general information in common areas and providing employees with information disseminated by the CDC and Ohio Department of Health.  Due to the CDC’s new Ebola monitoring protocol for travelers coming from affected countries, employers can rely on clearance from public health authorities in connection with an employee returning to work after travel in one of the impacted countries. This relieves the employer from determining an appropriate monitoring protocol. squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 9 9

Occupational Safety & Health Administration squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 10 10

OSHA  https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ebola/ squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 11 11

OSHA  US Employees At Greatest Risk For Exposure To Ebola:  Healthcare workers  Mortuary/death care workers  Airline servicing industries  Janitorial staff  Emergency responders  Laboratory workers  Workers who interact with people, animals, goods, and equipment arriving in the U.S. from foreign countries with current Ebola outbreaks squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 12 12

OSHA: Relevant Regulations  Bloodborne Pathogens (29 CFR 1910.1030)  Covers exposure to Ebola virus. Ebola is among the subset of contact-transmissible diseases to which the Bloodborne Pathogens standard applies, as it is transmitted by blood or other potentially infectious materials as defined in the standard.  Respiratory Protection (29 CFR 1910.134)  In situations where workers may be exposed to bioaerosols containing Ebola virus, employers must also follow the respiratory protection standard.  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (29 CFR 1910.132)  General Duty Clause  Requires employers to keep their workplace free of recognized hazards that can cause death or serious harm to workers. squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 13 13

OSHA: Requirements & Recommendations  Current OSHA Requirements & Recommendations for Protective Workers Whose Work Activities are Conducted in an Environment Known or Suspected to be Contaminated with Ebola (Not Direct Contact):  Meet PPE and Respiratory Protection standards  Good hand hygiene protocols to avoid exposure to infected blood and body fluids, contaminated objects, or other contaminated environmental surfaces  Wear gloves, wash hands with soap and water after removing gloves, and discard used gloves in properly labeled waste containers  Workers who may be splashed, sprayed, or spattered with blood or body fluids from environmental surfaces where Ebola virus contamination is possible must wear face and eye protection, such as a full-face shield or surgical masks with goggles. Aprons or other fluid-resistant protective clothing must also be worn in these situations to prevent the worker's clothes from being soiled with infectious material.  Train Workers about the sources of Ebola exposure and appropriate precautions.  Workers tasked with cleaning surfaces that may be contaminated with Ebola virus must be protected from exposure (see handout). squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 14 14

Workers’ Comp  Is Ebola contracted in the course of employment covered by workers’ compensation?  To be compensable, an occupational disease must be related to a “special risk” or hazard of employment beyond the risk ordinary people are exposed to  Work environment and specific responsibilities of a worker may increase that worker’s exposure to a virus or bacteria, and worker could argue the disease is compensable squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 15 15

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 16 16

Americans with Disabilities Act  The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against “qualified individuals” with a disability  ADA defines “disability” as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual  Substantial limitation requires both severity and duration of impairment squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 17 17

Americans with Disabilities Act  ADA regulates employers’ disability-related inquiries and medical examinations for all applicants and employees, including those who do not have ADA disabilities  ADA prohibits covered employers from excluding individuals with disabilities from the workplace for health or safety reasons unless they pose a “direct threat” (i.e. a significant risk of substantial harm even with reasonable accommodation)  ADA requires reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities (absent undue hardship) during a pandemic squirepattonboggs.com squirepattonboggs.com 18 18