Polsinelli Podcasts - What Health Care Providers Need to Know About Ebola Preparedness
Ebola Outbreak's Impact on International Maritime Operations
Like the rest of the nation, and indeed the whole world, contractors today are fighting a war against an invisible enemy. As we observed in a previous post, responding to COVID-19 raises wartime contracting issues on the home...more
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared a global health emergency due to an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. WHO officials made the declaration after the virus recently spread to Goma,...more
In Quirky Question #244, we discussed what employers should do to protect their employees and businesses in light of the potential Ebola threat. Last week, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered nearly 700 Minnesota National...more
If asked, most safety directors, human resource professionals and others involved regularly with OSHA would probably cite construction as the industry most associated with employee injury and illness. Yet, according to OSHA...more
How should an employer respond when it learns that an employee is planning a trip to West Africa to visit family? What if other employees refuse to come to work because they fear that the returning employee may have been...more
Registered nurses in 16 states and the District of Columbia are planning a national “Day of Action” by engaging in strikes, picketing, leafleting, rallies, and candlelight vigils on Wednesday, November 12, in support of...more
Although most hospitals likely will never encounter a true case of Ebola, that does not mean they are immune to its harms. With nurses and other clinicians clamoring for adequate workplace protections, hospitals must decide...more
Now that the Ebola virus has made its way to the United States, there is understandable concern about contracting it. Obviously hospitals have a clear responsibility to protect their employees, but what about non-healthcare...more
Recently, Miller & Martin Workplace Safety Practice Group provided information regarding the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) launch of its new web page designed to assist employers with their...more
Polsinelli presents Crisis Management: a multi-part series (culminating in a webinar on 11.20.2014) on what companies must know to stay ahead of external interruption that risks serious impact to their business concerns....more
As the Ebola virus has spread to a second city in the United States, and with the potential for additional cities to be affected, many businesses are faced with the difficult task of determining how to properly handle their...more
Rapidly changing circumstances raise workplace questions. The Ebola epidemic in 2014 has already been confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as the worst in history. The extent of this outbreak is...more
As the Ebola epidemic continues to grow in West Africa, hospitals across the U.S. are putting protocols in place to prepare themselves in the event that an Ebola patient is admitted to their facility. We’ve already seen...more
I am always amused by the manner in which class action lawyers attempt to capitalize on current events and public fears in bringing a “cutting edge” lawsuit that will garner a great amount of media attention. Although the...more
Oh the good ol’ days, when employees were awaiting a fictional zombie apocalypse and getting them to pay attention to prevention and preparedness was easy thanks to zombie animation from the Centers for Disease Control and...more
As a general business practice, employers should routinely anticipate and prepare for emergencies to ensure minimal interruption to their business. While West Africa is experiencing the largest Ebola epidemic in history,...more
Sample Policy - Purpose of Policy The Company is committed to providing a safe workplace for all of its employees. Because the modern workplace is a primary site for human interaction and potential spread of contagious...more
Frequently Asked Questions - Q: Is an employee with an Ebola infection entitled to leave under the Family Medical Leave Act? A: Generally, an employee who needs time off from work because he or she is sick, or...more
Neither the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission nor the Centers for Disease Control has issued any specific guidance for employers to deal with Ebola issues. With multiple Ebola cases diagnosed in the United States...more
Recent news surrounding the Ebola virus in the United States has raised concerns about what employers should do when faced with the threat of a highly infectious and/or contagious disease. By implementing practices that...more
Question: The recent media coverage of Ebola has been overwhelming. As an employer, I want to be prepared and proactive to protect our employees and our business, but I also don’t want to overreact to what is...more
In the wake of the world’s largest Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in history, Americans have been inundated with media hype surrounding the disease, and the government and employers’ perceived inadequacy in their...more
The recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, with the few isolated cases occurring in the United States, is spurring employers to review their emergency response plans for pandemic preparedness. In seven steps,...more
The CDC recently announced stricter guidelines on the use of personal protective equipment for United States healthcare workers providing healthcare services to patients with Ebola (“Guidelines”). According to the CDC, the...more
In light of the Ebola virus outbreak abroad and the recent Ebola cases in the U.S., employers should be aware of the laws implicated in their treatment of employees. Though employment issues related to Ebola may appear to be...more