The flu this year is widespread and potentially life-threatening, especially for children and those over 65.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that those with the flu stay home for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone, except to get medical care or other necessities.
The CDC says the fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, and individuals should “stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events and public gatherings.”
For many people, however, the CDC’s recommendation might not align with workplace policies.
Some employees may fear they will be disciplined or fired if they miss time from work because of the flu.
The flu does not constitute a disability. Therefore, those with the flu are not entitled to reasonable accommodations, including time off, for the flu, unless the flu causes an underlying disability, such as asthma, to flare.
The flu most likely constitutes a serious health condition that would be covered by the Family Medical Leave Act.
To be eligible for time off under the FMLA, the person must be incapacitated for more than three days due to the flu, the person must have either gone to a doctor and been prescribed medication for the condition, or visited a physician at least two times in 30 days for the condition.
The FMLA also would provide for protected leave to anyone whose spouse, child or parent suffers from a serious health condition, such as the flu.
The problem with the FMLA is that coverage is limited to those who have worked for the company one year (cumulative not consecutive) and who have worked for at least 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months.
In addition, the employee must work for an employer that employs 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. And the person must not have already exhausted FMLA (for instance, for the birth of a child or some other reason) within the past 12 months.
Thus, not all people suffering from the flu will be protected by the FMLA.
Regardless of the protections, however, employers are wise to discourage employees from coming to work when they, or a family member, has the flu. The flu is highly contagious and could spread throughout the workplace.
The concern for employers is abuse of time off, and coverage to meet customer and operational demands.
Many employees unfortunately waste their sick days when they aren’t actually sick, or they don’t want to burn off days so they can take time off for vacation or other commitments.
While an employee can technically be disciplined for failing to come to work or taking sporadic leave if the person is not eligible for the FMLA, employers make clear their expectations of employees regarding coming to work while afflicted with the flu.
Employers can — and should — require that employees provide medical documentation of a flu diagnosis if time off is to be taken for FMLA, or when the employee is not otherwise eligible for time off.
When an employee provides documentation of a flu diagnosis, employers should resist taking any disciplinary action, even if the employee is one who otherwise has attendance issues or is not eligible for time off.
The more employees who come to work sick with the flu, the greater chances that the flu will spread in your workplace, causing workers to be off from work. In addition, if someone actually has the flu, that person will unlikely be able to be productive in the workplace.
Thus, even those not eligible for FMLA should be given liberal leave consistent with the CDC to stay away from work until 24 hours after the employee’s fever is gone. Medical documentation can provide insight into the likely timeframe of when the employee will be out of work.
As for someone’s spouse, child or parent who is sick, employers can require that the employee provide medical documentation consistent with the FMLA for time off to be protected.
If the time off is not protected, the employer should consider being flexible with employees so that they can care for loved ones who are afflicted, recognizing that employers can expect that employees try to find help when the time off is getting excessive.