保护雇员和病人免受传染病的侵害

传染病对卫生保健设施构成独特的风险. 除了你对病人的责任, you also have the important responsibility of safeguarding your employees’ health and safety while they are in the workplace. 为了做到这一点, 你需要为传染病的爆发做好准备, 要么是你的员工，要么是你的当地社区, 这样你就可以采取措施维护一个安全的工作环境.

员工教育

Certain diseases require special treatments or protocols to avoid transmission from the patients to others in the facility. Your staff should know the proper precautions to take for each type of communicable disease, 包括什么时候报告疾病, 特殊处理需要和额外的安全或清洁措施. 

传染病政策

你不仅要关心你的病人可能患有的疾病, but also by any disease that your workers may bring into the facility. You should develop a communicable disease policy requiring employees to notify their supervisor of any possible exposure to infectious diseases. This will allow you to take proactive preventive measures against the spread of the disease. 

Because medical disclosures are governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 您必须确保该政策符合ADA的要求, including keeping employee health information confidential as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 作为政策的一部分, employees may be asked to work reduced hours or perform modified job duties until they are no longer contagious. 

旅行和检疫政策

大家都知道, it is important that health care workers get vaccinated when applicable, 这也适用于海外旅行. 如果员工要去有 最近爆发的传染病, they must obtain all recommended vaccinations and follow all health procedures.

如果员工出国旅行，回来后必须被隔离, they should notify immediately to arrange for paid leave or other options. 出差前应将此政策告知员工.

员工离开

Social distancing is one of the best methods to prevent the spread of a communicable disease in the workplace. 在你的设施里, that may mean that the best course of action for an ill employee is to stay home to reduce the likelihood of infecting others. 除此之外, other employees may need to miss work to care for sick family members during a disease outbreak. In response, companies should consider devising policies to address these concerns and leave issues.

休假政策应解决以下问题:

• 维护所有设备的运行.
• Sustaining a functioning workforce to minimize the effects of employee absenteeism, 包括关键位置的备份程序.
• 遵守适用法律, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
• 处理下列后勤问题:
  • 员工如何申请传染病假
  • 定期报告医疗状况的要求
  • 不管休假是带薪还是不带薪
  • 在休假期间是否提供或累积福利
  • If leave becomes exhausted, whether employee will be required to return to work

遵守法律

除了上面提到的法律, there are other laws that may affect a communicable disease policy and its ramifications:

• The 隐私 Rules under HIPAA require employers to protect the privacy of all employee medical information. 结果是, 雇主必须决定雇员必须报告哪些疾病, who will have access to this information and whether reporting this information to public health officials is necessary. If other employees must be notified of a possible communicable disease case in the workplace, all necessary precautions must be taken to protect the privacy of the infected individual.
• 在休假, 适用于半径75英里内有50名或以上雇员的雇主, employees who have worked for the company for 12 months and have worked 1,250 hours within the last 12 months are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to a “serious health condition.” Most communicable diseases will likely be considered applicable under this regulation.
• Employees who suffer permanent health problems that substantially affect their daily lives may be entitled to protections under the ADA. 
• 根据1974年雇员退休收入保障法(ERISA), employers must confirm that employees under their health plan receive an updated summary plan description (SPD) of the health benefits. If employees do not receive a SPD, the provisions allowing the plan to change may not be enforceable. 此外, if an employer cannot prove that employees and/or dependents did receive a revised SPD, then the employer may be required to provide higher benefits in accordance with previous SPDs. 

制定传染病应对计划

Creating a communicable disease response plan is an effective way to communicate with employees clearly while also complying with local, 州和联邦大流行应对指南. 计划应该简明扼要, easy to understand and effective in preserving the health and safety of all employees. 计划应包括:

• The designation of a person within the workplace who is responsible for all disease planning and emergency actions
• 沟通政策和请假所需的步骤
• Development of backup protocol with regard to filling staff openings in the event of absences
• Development of a monitoring program to track employees who cannot return to work immediately due to illness
• Development of social distancing strategies (where possible) to limit transmission risks
• 计划发行时间表和格式(在线，纸质等).)

This Risk Insights is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice. ©2010-2011 Zywave, Inc. 版权所有.