Plan Now for a Pandemic

Posted by Mark Brousseau

The very real possibility of a swine flu pandemic should be a wake-up call to the many organizations that have not developed a plan to cope with widespread employee illness, according to CCH, part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.

To reduce the impact on operations, employees, customers and the general public, it is important for all organizations that haven't done so to begin continuity planning for a pandemic now, CCH says.

Unlike natural disasters or terrorist events, an influenza pandemic would be widespread, affecting multiple areas of the U.S. and other countries at the same time. A pandemic would also be an extended event, with multiple waves of outbreaks in the same geographic area; each outbreak could last from six to eight weeks. Waves of outbreaks might occur over a year or more.

"A pandemic could affect as many as 40 percent of the workforce during periods of peak illness. Employees could be absent because they are sick, they must care for sick family members or for children if schools or day care centers are closed, or they are afraid to come to work," said CCH Workplace Analyst Heidi Henson, JD. "Lack of continuity planning can result in a cascade of failures as employers attempt to address challenges of a pandemic with insufficient resources and employees who might not be adequately trained in the jobs they will be asked to perform."

In 2007, the CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey revealed that only 27 percent of companies reported that they had a plan in place in the event that a large percentage of employees become ill. This was almost a 100-percent increase over 2006, when only 14 percent of companies surveyed had such plans, however, it still represented just over one in four organizations.

"In 2007, there was heightened awareness of the need for pandemic planning because of concern over a possible avian flu pandemic," Henson noted. "That outbreak never materialized; hopefully organizations have continued to develop plans in the meantime."

In establishing a plan to cope with a possible pandemic, organizations must address the phenomenon known as "presenteeism," which occurs when employees show up for work sick. This can have a significant and costly impact on an organization, not only in terms of risking the spread of disease, but also in terms of diminished productivity, quality and attention to safety.

"We all know what it feels like to have the flu - you're not operating at 100 percent, you may not even be operating at 50 percent," said CCH Employment Law Analyst Brett Gorovsky, JD. "The bottom line for most organizations is that it's in everyone's best interest for sick workers to simply stay away, even in normal times."

"Employers need to discourage both the 'hero employee' - and even more so, the 'hero boss' - who try to muddle their way through the day when they shouldn't," said Gorovsky. "Employees are sensitive to the differences between what management says and what it means, and when they see their supervisors coming in sick, they're convinced that's what's expected of them also."

Organizations that build pandemic plans may also help address their everyday presenteeism issues.

"As part of developing a pandemic plan, organizations need to thoroughly examine all their practices and procedures," said Gorovsky. "Many organizations that take these steps will then roll them out as part of their overall HR practices, making sure they're adequately addressing employee illness, whether it's just a mildly severe flu season or a serious pandemic."

CCH recommends the following basic steps to prepare for a pandemic:

... Identify a pandemic coordinator or team with defined roles and responsibilities for preparedness and response planning;
... Identify key employees and key work processes required to maintain business operations during a pandemic;
... Establish (or review) an emergency communications plan;
... Seek up-to-date information from local and state health and emergency management resources; and
... Remind employees to get in the habit of washing their hands often and cover their mouths and noses when they cough and sneeze.

What steps is your organization taking to prepare for a potential pandemic? Post your comments below.

Swine Flu Triggers Legal Questions

Posted by Mark Brousseau

Business managers following swine flu's (H1N1 influenza) spread and monitoring government advisories should prepare to handle difficult legal issues triggered by an escalating epidemic or worst-case pandemic scenario, says New York litigation partner Kenneth W. Taber, head of Pillsbury's Disaster Planning and Liability Management Team, which advises the City of New York and other clients on emergency and disaster response plans for natural disaster, epidemic, terrorism and other crisis scenarios.

"Epidemics pose particularly difficult issues because unlike a hurricane or terrorist bomb, the scope of impact is not immediately clear and changes rapidly," Taber explains. "Compared to asking when a fire can be extinguished or electricity restored, diseases present companies with more complicated questions, such as whether they can lawfully demand employees provide proof of vaccination, bar sick employees from the office or compel healthy -- but fearful -- staff from reporting for work."

Taber adds that even well-intentioned companies seeking to accommodate employees' concerns and assist health authorities can inadvertently incur liability if they distribute medications, for example. They can also run afoul of provisions in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if certain health records are improperly shared or flu-infected workers allege discrimination. He notes that some organizations, such as federally-supported universities and government contractors are subject to different regulations apart from other areas of the private sector.

Because disease outbreaks are difficult to identify and contain quickly and can persist over time with varying effects, Taber advises clients to take an integrated approach to planning for all manner of related business disruptions, from reduced staff levels to constricted supply chains, missed deadlines and service failures.

"After addressing their top priority of human health and welfare, organizations have to look at what could happen in adverse impact; if an offshore parts supplier or service provider is in a particularly hard-hit region and incapacitated or if the company itself is unable to serve customers due to an epidemic -- liabilities and legal implications could vary," Taber explains. "Quarantines can cause significant disruptions. Clients need to determine whether they will follow voluntary quarantines affecting their workforce, or how tightened border screening of potentially contaminated goods and travelers will affect their logistics and business travel requirements. These questions are best asked in advance, before costly delays and interruptions force the issue."

Taber recommends that organizations routinely review, revise and test their emergency response plans to ensure they reflect both changing needs of the organization and accepted risk and compliance levels.

"Epidemics lead many businesses to cancel travel and encourage employees to work from home -- putting higher demand on computer systems and IT staff as a result," he notes. "Unless management has adequately planned for and practiced secure tele-commuting, there could be data privacy risks if employees are untrained on following office technology policies outside their cubicles or use improperly configured laptops -- these are hard problems to fix once employees are stuck at home."

What do you think? Post your comments below.

Swine Flu Highlights Need for Supply Chain Resilience

Posted by Mark Brousseau

The current Swine Flu outbreak highlights the need for supply chain resilience.

INSIGHT, Inc. notes that with the Swine Flu, natural disasters, or terrorist plots constantly in the news these days, companies must be prepared for business disruptions by having in place an overall risk management and resilience plan. Companies must perform rigorous analysis of their supply chain network to uncover its vulnerabilities and manage risk, INSIGHT says.

"Supply chain teams need to immediately analyze their supply chain networks for the potential impact this risk may have on their company, customers, and trading partners," said Jeff Karrenbauer, president of INSIGHT, Inc. "These issues impact corporate survival and highlight the need for assessing supply chain vulnerability as a factor in business continuity planning."

What steps is your organization taking to prepare for a potential flu pandemic? Post your comments below.