We encourage businesses and employers to inform
staff about how to prevent the spread of H1N1 or swine flu illness at work, as well as support employees who have sick children or family members at home.
Regardless of the size or type of your business, planning and taking action now can help protect your business and employees from the spread of flu. Take steps now and continue during the flu season to help protect the health of your employees.
Plan NOW!
Review your current pandemic flu plan or develop a new plan.
Engage your state and local health department to confirm channels of communication
Consider ways to allow sick employees to stay home without fear of losing their jobs.
Develop flexible leave policies
Share best practices with other businesses in your community.
Add
a “widget” or “button” to your company Web page or employee
Web site so employees can access the latest information on the flu:
Purchase
supplies
such as tissues, soap, and alcohol-based hand cleaners to encourage
healthful habits in the workplace.
Plan
for how business can continue if many employees must stay home.
Take
Proactive Steps
Take
steps now and continue during the flu season to help protect the
health of your employees.
Advise all employees to stay home if they are sick until at least 24 hours after flu symptoms have stopped.
Employees who get sick at work should go home as soon as
possible.
If the employee cannot go home immediately, he or she should be separated from other employees.
Encourage sick employees at higher risk of complications from flu to contact their health care provider as soon as
possible. Encourage all employees who want protection from flu to get vaccinated for seasonal flu. Also encourage employees who are at higher risk for complications from 2009 H1N1 flu to receive the vaccine when it becomes available. For more information about priority groups for vaccination, visit
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm.
The simplest ways to
protect yourself and others from influenza-like illness are to:
Cover coughs and sneezes.
In the absence of a tissue, sneeze or cough into one’s sleeve or elbow. Dispose of tissues immediately.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand
cleaner, especially after coughing or sneezing.
Frequently clean all commonly touched surfaces in the workplace such as workstations, countertops, and doorknobs. Use the cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas and follow the label directions. No additional disinfection beyond routine cleaning is recommended.
Clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact.
Provide information to employees overseas about what to do if they become sick.
Manager/Supervisor Guidelines:
All of the above information for staff applies to management’s personal health care as well.
Advise employees to be alert to any signs of fever or other influenza-like-illness
(ILI) before reporting to work each day.
Expect sick employees to be out for about 3-5 days in most cases, even if antiviral medications are used.
Do not require a doctor’s note for employees who are ill with ILI to validate their illness or to return to work, as doctors’ offices and medical facilities may be extremely busy and may not be able to provide documentation in a timely manner.
Employees who are well but have an ill family member at home with ILI can go to work as usual. Employers should maintain flexible policies that permit workers to stay home to care for an ill family member.
tect the
health of your employees.
