What's a boss to do?

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Permalink Reply by Heather on May 1, 2009 at 4:34pm

My friend works for a IT company. Anyone who goes to Mexico must stay home for 10 days without pay. He was suppose to be attending a wedding in Mexico but now he can't go since he can't afford to go that long without pay.

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Permalink Reply by Ivan on May 3, 2009 at 1:30pm

Can he get a Doctor's note before returning to work?

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Permalink Reply by Safetyguy08 on May 3, 2009 at 3:20pm

He might be able to but...
1. Can the company make him, seeing as he isn't sick himself
2. The confirmation of the swine flu takes a few days so it wouldn't really do much good.

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Permalink Reply by Pam Sheirer on May 1, 2009 at 5:00pm

I think it would depend on a lot of things, including the country and state, the company's leave policy, etc.

No I don't believe the foreman can 'force' the worker into getting tested. Does the company have a policy statement on liberal leave, illness, (preferably a pandemic policy). That is where you should start. What ever is decided, the company must make it an across the board policy to keep from discriminating.

Tell him Good Luck,

Pam

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Permalink Reply by Safetyguy08 on May 1, 2009 at 5:25pm

Heather,

I agree that if you make a rule up front you can hold employees to the choice that they make. Unfortunately, in this case there isn't a pandemic policy or any kind of rule that the employee knew about before he made the choice to go get his wife. Not sure what the ramifications would be for the company if they forced him to take time off without pay.

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Permalink Reply by Pam Sheirer on May 1, 2009 at 6:09pm

I would get a lawyer involved in figuring out what is legal to do. Does the employee want to come back to work?

Pam

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Permalink Reply by Safetyguy08 on May 2, 2009 at 5:44pm

Yes, the employee does not want to take time off work as he doesn't get paid.
This goes back to something that I posted a couple days back about sick time. I actually read in the Seattle Sun Times this morning that less than 36% of the work force has paid sick leave.
Telling these people to stay home when they are sick in order not to spread the flu isn't going to any more effective than the "Just say 'No!'" campaign to keep kids off of drugs.

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Permalink Reply by Pam Sheirer on May 3, 2009 at 12:32pm

What about having workers who exhibit symptoms or are caring for an ill family member with a confirmed or suspected case of H1N1 to be required to wear an N95 face mask? It would go a long way toward protecting other workers, without the requirement to stay home without pay.

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Permalink Reply by Pam Sheirer on May 3, 2009 at 9:04am

I'm not sure what to do about a situation that has already happened. However, it is past time for the crew foreman to talk to the corporate, or the company lawyer.

I suspect the company doesn't have an emergency action plan, or at least not an effective one. The EAP will need to be upgraded to cover a situation like this in the future.

Pam

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Permalink Reply by Safetyguy08 on May 3, 2009 at 3:22pm

I agree. I'm not sure that there is much that they can do at this point but they might be able to learn from this and put something down on paper to avoid similar situations in the future.
This is something that might be a good idea for any company.

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