In planning for ways to protect your residents, employees, and others from COVID-19, don’t forget to review your sick-leave policies:
- If you don’t have a communicable disease policy, consider developing one. This should address issues such as closures, isolation/quarantines, when visitors will be prohibited, how the organization will communicate news with employees, etc.
- Evaluate if absences are covered under federal, state, and local leave laws.
- Determine what symptoms could be considered a serious health condition. In the event of a possible pandemic, you need to identify symptoms that may trigger an employee’s right to take job-protected, unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave.
- Consider temporarily waiving certain policies. For instance, employers usually require written verification from a medical provider if a worker needs sick leave for more than three days. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that employers waive this requirement in the current situation, as medical professionals would likely be overwhelmed with requests.
- Actively encourage sick or symptomatic employees to stay home when they have symptoms of COVID-19, including fever or respiratory issues.
- Ensure the company’s sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance.
- Make sure contractors and staffing agencies inform their employees about the important of staying home and the guidelines for such absences.
- Consider not requiring employees with acute respiratory illness to provide a physician’s note to return to work. However, make specific criteria for their return to work clear.
- Maintain flexible policies that enable workers to stay home for a sick child or other family member.
- Clarify what positions are eligible for remote or telework and what the guidelines for this work are.
