Rock Products

DEC 2014

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ROCK products • DECEMBER 2014 www.rockproducts.com 58 LAW T he spread of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) and the inci‐ dence of Ebola cases in the United States have raised issues for employers and employees on appropriate workplace re‐ sponses. The mining community has not escaped these issues, as the public health community at large has mobilized to pre‐ vent the spread of the virus. The Ebola outbreak, however, has highlighted a broader issue for mining employers related to emergency preparedness and business continuity considerations. Mining employers should review their response to the Ebola outbreak and adjust their approach to emergency response and business continuity based on lessons learned. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever The Ebola virus, and is typically associated with fever, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. Other symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and impaired organ function, may appear as the illness progresses. Symptoms of EHF arise within two days and 21 days after exposure, but eight days to 10 days is the average. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has cat‐ egorized Ebola as a Category A select agent. This means that it poses a risk to national security because it can be easily dis‐ seminated or transmitted from person to person, can result in high mortality rates, has the potential for major public health impact, may cause public panic and social disruption, and can require special action for public health preparedness. Workplace Safety and Health Considerations The first consideration for employers, including mining em‐ ployers, relates to risks associated with employee exposure to the Ebola virus and measures to protect employees from such exposure. Workers performing tasks involving close contact with symptomatic individuals with EHF or in environments contaminated or reasonably anticipated to be contaminated with infectious body fluids are at risk of exposure. OSHA has identified workers in health care, laboratories, the airline industry, other travel service, mortuary and death care, border protection, and emergency responders as having the greatest risk of exposure. Employees in the mining industry are at low risk of exposure. Even so, many employers have been facing the prospect of em‐ ployees traveling to areas particularly affected by the spread of Ebola. This issue exists for employers regardless of industry. For employees that travel to an area affected by the outbreak, the CDC provides the following recommendations: • Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol‐based hand sanitizer. • Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, par‐ ticularly someone who is sick. • Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person's blood or body fluids. • Do not touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola. • Do not touch bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and fluids and do not touch or eat raw meat prepared from these animals. • Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever (tem‐ perature of 101.5 F/38.6 C) and any of the other following symptoms: headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain or unexplained bruising or bleeding. Employment and Labor Law Considerations In addition to workplace safety and health issues, employers have had to consider other employment and labor law issues that an Ebola event could involve. For example, coworkers' con‐ cerns for their own safety about being near an employee who has traveled to or through countries of concern, as identified by the CDC. Most employment laws were not written with the outbreak of a deadly virus in mind. Perhaps because of this, in dealing with these issues, employers have found there is no effective "risk‐free" approach. Below are some basic employment law considerations. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), among other things, prohibits employers from: (1) discriminating against individu‐ als who have a disability, including those who are "regarded as" having a disability; and (2) making disability‐related inquiries of employees or requiring employees to undergo medical ex‐ aminations unless it is "job‐related and consistent with busi‐ ness necessity." The ADA also prohibits employers from disclosing confidential medical information, including the iden‐ tity of an employee with a communicable disease. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) pro‐ hibits an employer from discriminating against individuals based on genetic information and strictly limits circumstances where employers may request an employee's genetic informa‐ tion. GINA does allow disclosure of genetic information "to a public health agency, if information about the manifestation of a disease or disorder concerns a contagious disease that pres‐ ents an imminent hazard of death or life‐threatening illness." Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act gives non‐su‐ Ebola in the Workplace By Bradford T. Hammock Bradfor d T . Hammock is a share- holder in the Washington, D.C. re- gion office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He focuses his practice in the safety and health area, and is Leader of the firm's Workplace Safety and Health practice group.

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