# 2071
There is an expectation by employees that their employers will provide them a safe workplace. This covenant, in many countries, is enforced by both civil and criminal law.
In fact, here in the United States, OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) created the following statement of worker's rights nearly 40 years ago.
WORKER RIGHTS UNDER THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO A SAFE WORKPLACE. OSHA REQUIRES EMPLOYERS TO PROVIDE A WORKPLACE THAT IS FREE OF SERIOUS RECOGNIZED HAZARDS AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH OSHA STANDARDS.
Employers take note. If you haven't spoken to an attorney about your responsibilities and liabilities during a pandemic, it might be prudent to do so.
I'm not a legal expert, so take what follow's with a grain of salt. . .
But after nearly 3 years of governmental warnings, I would think it would be hard to argue that a pandemic isn't a `serious recognized hazard'.
And while the OSHA guidelines on pandemic preparedness are currently only recommendations and don't have the force of law, I can envision that a failure to adopt them might be seen by a civil jury as `reckless disregard for employee safety' during and after a pandemic.
Just saying . . .
Of course, aside from the liability, the main reason employers need to prepare for a pandemic is so they can keep their doors open, and their businesses running.
A pandemic could consist of multiple waves over one, or perhaps two years. There will be serious interruptions in commerce and cash flow. The option to simply close their doors for the duration may not be available to a lot of businesses.
Many companies will need to find ways to stay solvent and continue to provide goods and services during this tumultuous time. Not only for their company's welfare, but for the welfare of the nation.
And for that to happen, they need to keep their employees as safe as possible, and willing to work, during a pandemic.
Not all employees, and all work environments, will be at the same risk level. Employers need to carefully assess the risk for each employee, and act accordingly.
At the very top of the risk pyramid come health care workers and first responders. Many other types of employees will fall into the medium or lower risk categories.
Notice, there is no LOW RISK category, only a `lower risk'.
Occupational Risk Pyramid for Pandemic Influenza
Very High Exposure Risk:
High Exposure Risk:
- Healthcare employees (for example, doctors, nurses, dentists) performing aerosol-generating procedures on known or suspected pandemic patients (for example, cough induction procedures, bronchoscopies, some dental procedures, or invasive specimen collection).
- Healthcare or laboratory personnel collecting or handling specimens from known or suspected pandemic patients (for example, manipulating cultures from known or suspected pandemic influenza patients).
Medium Exposure Risk:
- Healthcare delivery and support staff exposed to known or suspected pandemic patients (for example, doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff that must enter patients' rooms).
- Medical transport of known or suspected pandemic patients in enclosed vehicles (for example, emergency medical technicians).
- Performing autopsies on known or suspected pandemic patients (for example, morgue and mortuary employees).
Lower Exposure Risk (Caution):
- Employees with high-frequency contact with the general population (such as schools, high population density work environments, and some high volume retail).
- Employees who have minimal occupational contact with the general public and other coworkers (for example, office employees).
The level of employer/business preparedness will vary depending on the type of business and the risk levels encountered.
For some with only low risk employees, it may simply involve staggering work hours, moving desks to promote social distancing, putting up sneeze guards between employees and customers, and providing hand sanitizers and disinfectants.
For those with medium risk or higher employees, the burden may be much higher. For the very high and high risk employees, it may include N95 and surgical masks, along with prophylactic antivirals.
This decision chart comes from the Proposed Considerations for Antiviral Drug Stockpiling by Employers In Preparation for an Influenza Pandemic released early last week by the HHS.
Right now, these are just proposed guidelines.
As you can see, it is recommended that employers stockpile antivirals for high and very high risk employees, and that companies or agencies that are part of the critical infrastructure strongly consider prophylactic drugs for employees essential to their operations.
Obviously the protection of employees will require that employers accept a tremendous burden. It will be costly, and those costs must be borne now, before a pandemic threat becomes imminent.
There will be, quite naturally, some reluctance on the part of some employers to follow through. The costs of preparing will be high, and returns on the investment may be years away.
But failing to properly prepare a workplace for a pandemic not only puts their employee's lives at risk, it can threaten the existence of the business itself.
The bottom line here is that all businesses, large and small, need to have a serious pandemic plan in place. If appropriate, they need to be stockpiling those items (masks, gloves, prophylactic antivirals) that they will need to maintain (relatively) safe operations during a crisis.
It is, after all, incumbent upon business owners to provide a safe workplace. Those that do so are more likely to keep their doors open during and after a pandemic.
Those that don't. . . probably won't.
