Can you collect employee medical info to combat H1N1?
October 13, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Health care, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Records documentation, policies
Employer groups have been asking the Centers for Disease Control for guidance on whether privacy rules prevent HR from surveying employees about medical info designed to control the spread of swine flu. The CDC has responded, including an approved form for requesting certain types of info.
The CDC has issued a document – “ADA-Compliant Employer Preparedness For the H1N1 Flu Virus.” You’ll want to pay special attention to the parts that cover:
- How employers may request health information from applicants and employees regarding H1N1 flu virus. Here’s what the CDC says:
An employer may survey its workforce to gather personal information needed for pandemic preparation if the employer asks broad questions that are not limited to disability-related inquiries. An inquiry would not be disability-related if it identified non-medical reasons for absence during a pandemic (e.g., mandatory school closures or curtailed public transportation) on an equal footing with medical reasons (e.g., chronic illnesses that weaken immunity).
Here’s the format CDC suggests for surveying employees while steering clear of ADA violations:
ADA-Compliant Pre-Pandemic Employee Survey
Directions: Answer “yes” to the whole question without specifying the reason or reasons that apply to you. Simply check “yes” or “no” at the bottom.
In the event of a pandemic, would you be unable to come to work because of any of the following reasons:
If schools or day-care centers were closed, you would need to care for a child;
If other services were unavailable, you would need to care for other dependents;
If public transport were sporadic or unavailable, you would be unable to travel to work, and/or;
If you or a member of your household fall into one of the categories identified by CDC as being at high risk for serious complications from the pandemic influenza virus, you would be advised by public health authorities not to come to work (e.g., pregnant women; persons with compromised immune systems due to cancer, HIV, history of organ transplant or other medical conditions; persons less than 65 years of age with underlying chronic conditions; or persons over 65).
Answer: YES __________ NO __________
To learn more do’s and don’ts about collecting medical info, see the full CDC document.
Tags: CDC, Centers for Disease Control, h1n1, swine flu
October 13th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Seems like it’s just another flu season to me.
“The money is in the medicine, not the cure.”
Plenty of rest, sunshine and vitamin C.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I agree.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
The CDC has the authority and knowledge to actually tell us as HR persons what we can or cannot ask? I would not feel comfortable asking any of these questions!
Every position should have a continuity folder (daily, weekly, monthly , qrtly, EOY) for things they do AND step-by-step how to do them! I’m talking step 1 turn on computer, step 2 open firefox step 3 login (including a generic user name and password for emergencies)
Any business can and should write their disaster preparedness plan where you do not know who the players will be from day to day. You identify the absolute “gotta do havta do” for each area (daily, through and including EOY) and then prioritize those against other areas within the company. When you are short of people you identify who is at work, their skills, and start tasking! If the continuity folders and emergency taskers are done correctly, and the at work employees fess up to all their skills 25 percent of a companies employees can keep the company going until the others start coming back to work.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Our pandemic plan requires us to conduct employee screenings for 10 days following each reported case of H1N1. The screenings consist of three questions completed by the employee and given at the screening checkpoint before entering work. We also conduct temperature checks before an employee can go to work. We do not allow an employee to work if their fever is 100.3 or higher. We send them home and pay them for their time away from work with no attendance infractions. Its not that H1N1 is worse than the regular flu, it spreads faster and we have an obligation to our customers to limit the effects that absenteeism would have on servicing them.
1. Do you have flu like symptons or a fever? yes/no
2. Have you been exposed to someone with flu like symptons? yes/no
3. Have you traveled to an area where the flu is wide spread? yes/no