I don't know about you, but it feels like a wave of illness has affected my family, friends, and colleagues in recent weeks. With the holidays in full swing and an uptick in travel, this trend is unlikely to slowdown. But, perhaps in a nod to “normalcy,” the tests are coming back a mixture of cold, flu, RSV, and COVID.  In short, we seem to be back to the ‘typical’ wave of several sicknesses and communicable diseases.


Chances are, in response to the pandemic, your organization hastily rolled out an Infectious Disease Policy. However, unless you've revisited it in the past three years, odds are it primarily caters to the nuances of COVID and overlooks a broader spectrum of infectious diseases like the common cold or the flu. Now is a great time for your organization to take a step back and consider, “What are our expectations for employees and the workplace when it comes to illness?”


Beyond a business purpose, there are also legal reasons to ensure that you have proper health and safety protocols in place. The agency tasked to address workplace health and safety is OSHA – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  The General Duty Clause requires that employers provide “a place of employment [] free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” 29 USC654(a)(1). Employers should bear in mind that this extends to diseases in the workplace.


Now is a great time to be thinking about adjusting your policies and procedures regarding infectious diseases to adapt to a wide variety of illnesses. Here are 5 considerations to keep in mind:


  1. Establish general hygiene expectations for employees (washing hands, covering coughs, etc.).
  2. Define attendance expectations when feeling under the weather, including the possibility of telecommuting.
  3. If coming into the office symptomatic is permitted, outline the procedures for symptomatic employees entering the office, considering measures like mandatory mask-wearing, or providing a secluded space for voluntary use.
  4. Clarify expectations regarding employees who are exposed to symptomatic individuals in a household or otherwise.
  5. Make clear your company’s mitigation strategies, including airflow/filtration, routine cleaning, sanitation products/equipment available to employees (wipes, hand sanitizer, disinfectant, etc.), PPE provided/available, etc.


Spending a little time now on this policy, while the implementation experience is relatively fresh in your mind, will put your organization in a solid position to respond to communicable diseases in the workplace, regardless of severity.


Idaho Employment Lawyers is available to assist you in generalizing your Infectious Disease Policy or helping you implement one moving forward. Contact us by phone at 208-901-3912 or by email at [email protected]. Similarly, visit our website at idemploymentlawyers.com to learn more.