Companies Plan for Mass Flu Absences

Below about H1N1.

The spread of the H1N1 virus has larger employers adapting business plans to keep things running when employees are ill, while doing what they can to prevent the spread of the illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is clear about what people should do if they have swine flu symptoms.

"If you get sick with flu-like symptoms this flu season, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care," according to the agency's Web site.

Integrys Energy Group is among the companies that have considered how to deal with a pandemic for a number of years, namely in the wake of an avian flu outbreak earlier this decade.

Part of that plan calls for cross-training employees to fill in for critical functions — such as payroll or safety, health and wellness — should employees fall ill, said Michele Anderson, manager of workers compensation and wellness with Integrys in Green Bay.

"While the first plan was specific to avian flu, now our plan is more generic in the event we have any pandemic," she said. "These are living, breathing documents, and they're going to change depending on what's out in the medical community."

Integrys is following guidelines set forth by the CDC and local health departments.If employees exceed their sick days or time allotted for personal matters, they can request short-term disability or time off through the Family Medical Leave Act, she said.

"Each case is being addressed individually," Anderson said. "There's no steadfast protocol in place that says if you only have five days you have to come back even if you're sick. We encourage people that have flu-like symptoms … to stay home to protect not only themselves but also other employees that may be around them."

Absenteeism hasn't yet been a problem, she said.

She echoes other area businesses in pointing out that the energy business doesn't have the luxury of shutting down if employees call in sick for a prolonged amount of time.

Source.