738 Workplace Hygiene and Illness Prevention Program Management

Infectious Disease Outbreak Response Plan

It is important for management to have a response plan in place in the event of an infectious disease outbreak. An outbreak is a sudden rise in the number of disease cases. Examples of recent disease outbreaks include the 2009 Swine Flu and the 2020 COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

To increase the effectiveness of an infectious disease outbreak response (IDOR) plan, include employees during the development and review of the plan. You can use mock exercises to identify gaps or problems in the plan that need to be corrected. Train employees and explain human resources policies, workplace and leave flexibilities, and pay and benefits available.

In the event of a disease outbreak, management should:

• review human resources policies to ensure they align with local, state, and national public health recommendations and workplace laws
• explore the use of flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts) to increase the physical distance between employees
• identify essential business functions, jobs, and roles that are critical to business operations - consider how your business will function under the IDOR plan
• establish authorities, triggers, and procedures for activating and terminating the company's IDOR plan - make plans for altering business operations (e.g., changing or closing operations in the affected area)
• if public officials call for social distancing, plan to minimize exposure between employees and between employees and the public
• establish a process to communicate information to employees and key stakeholders - anticipate employee fear, anxiety, rumors, and misinformation
• develop a plan to operate if absenteeism increases due to sick employees, those who stay home to take care of sick family members, and those who stay home to take care of their children dismissed from school - prepare to institute flexible work and leave policies for those employees
• classify employee exposure risk during an outbreak - provide employees with the appropriate PPE based on their level of risk
• consider cancelling non-essential business travel

Having an established infectious disease outbreak response plan will help your company respond effectively.

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