Feds Urge Employers to Prepare for Flu Season

As federal officials encouraged employers to review their strategies for the upcoming flu season last week, at least one of the county’s large employers had already considered its plans.

American Specialty Health, a 750-employee business that provides personal health improvement programs to insurers and employers countywide, was busy re-evaluating its attendance policy, ordering laptops and checking in with health plans about on-site flu vaccinations.

Kristin Bragg, senior director of human resources, said the company gained valuable lessons from the October 2007 wildfires.

Its downtown offices closed for three days during the fires, as a precautionary measure, which led managers to re-evaluate how they might keep the business operating in future emergencies.

Bragg said the upcoming flu season could create similar scenarios, with some workers telecommuting or remaining home to help prevent flulike illnesses or stop them from spreading.

“We want to make sure we’re really prepared for a situation where we could get our business up and running even if there’s a full-blown pandemic,” Bragg said.

Last week, federal officials unveiled updated guidelines for employers preparing for the flu season, one that now includes the deadly H1N1 swine flu.

Employers’ plans, they said, should address encouraging employees with flulike symptoms to stay home, operating with fewer staff members, and possibly keeping workers at higher risk of serious medical complications from infection at home.

“Making the right decisions will not only improve public health, it also has the potential to protect economic productivity: Employees who are sick and stay home will not spread the flu in the workplace,” Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said during a news conference.

Studies have shown that the flu results in billions of dollars in lost wages in the U.S. annually.

Last week, a 57-year-old woman with underlying medical issues became the latest person infected with swine flu to die in San Diego County, health officials reported. Altogether, San Diego has had 1,053 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza, including 17 deaths.

Vaccinations Encouraged

Karen Waters-Montijo, chief of immunizations for the county’s Public Health Department, said the county is expecting to receive shipments of the H1N1 vaccine in October, which is traditionally the start of flu season.

“We don’t really know yet whether H1N1 will dominate or whether we’ll have a mix,” she said.

Employers would be wise to encourage employees to get vaccinated early, she said.

“The seasonal vaccine will probably be available in medical offices as early as September,” Waters-Montijo said. “We encourage people to get that one — get it early and get it out of the way.”

Mitch Danzig, a labor and employment attorney with Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo in San Diego, said guidelines surrounding H1N1 preparations have raised “a whole host of (legal) issues.”

He said employers must comply with rules concerning the disclosure of confidential medical information. If employees test positive for swine flu, their health status remains confidential under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which governs the sharing of medical exams with others. In limited circumstances, however, employers may share information among supervisors and managers.

Employers should have a plan in place ahead of time to protect from the threat of future lawsuits. They should communicate their plans with workers in advance, Danzig said.

“If you can do that now, you’re going to save yourself doing that in panic mode when half your workers are sick,” he said.