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Contagious Diseases: What Florida Employers Need to Know
Submitted by: Genevieve Napolitano, Esq., and Brandon Woodward, Esq.
The Ebola hemorrhagic virus (EHV) has come into the spotlight
recently due to an outbreak in Africa and few cases in the United
States. Employers must be aware of potential liability when it comes
to EHV and other contagious diseases in the workplace.
EHV Transmission:
 Some contagious diseases are easily transmitted through the
air, such as influenza or the measles virus.
 EHV, however, is only transmitted through direct contact with
broken skin or mucous membranes, with an infected individual’s
blood or bodily fluids, and objects that have come into contact with those fluids.
Liability under OSHA
 Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires an employer to protect its
employees against “recognized hazards” to safety or health which may cause serious injury or
death.
 Under the “multi-employer workplace doctrine,” OSHA will issue citations to a host employer if
another employer’s staff members are exposed, or the host employer created or exposed the
other employees to the hazard.
 If a citation has been issued, OSHA will expect the employer to implement a response plan, based
upon a “hazard assessment” of potential exposure at the workplace.
 Training, sanitation, and prevention techniques are some ways to comply with the Act.
 Employers must offer any employees who have been exposed free medical evaluation and
treatment by a licensed health care provider. i
Liability under the ADA
 Disability is defined as an impairment which substantially limits one or more of the major life
activities of an individual (e.g., breathing, working, speaking), which is chronic in nature. The
Florida Human Rights Act adopts this definition implicitly.
 EHV, which is expected to involve temporary infection, would not qualify as a “disability.” ii
 However, if an employee develops a disability as a result of the infection and cannot return to
the same work duties, then an employer must identify any available accommodations which do
not cause undue hardship to the employer, or whether the employee’s disability presents a direct
threat to the health or safety of other employees.
 Employers must keep employees’ health information confidential in compliance with the ADA.
 Employers may only ask current employees medical questions when there are concrete reasons
to believe that the employee cannot perform the job or poses a risk to workplace safety due to a
medical condition.
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FMLA Considerations
 Employers with more than 50 employees must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for an
employee or her spouse, child, or parent who have a “serious health condition.”
 Although there are so few cases of EHV in the United States, it is likely to qualify for coverage
under the FMLA.
 The CDC recommends removal of infected employees from the workplace during the disease’s
incubation period (2-21 days) to prevent transmission. iii
 If an employee exhausts her FMLA leave time before recovering from the virus, then an employer
may extend the time, but is not required to do so under the FMLA.
Premises Liability
 A landowner, who is also an employer, who permits third parties to enter its premises for business
purposes, owes a duty of “reasonable care” to protect such individuals against hazards that are
not “open and obvious.”
 If an employer knows, or should reasonably know, that there is an infected individual on the
premises, there may be a duty to warn others of the potential health hazard or to prevent access
to certain facility areas.
 If the building ventilation system or bathroom facilities may become contaminated with a contagious
disease, the employer may have an obligation to prevent such contamination through enhanced
sanitation measures.
 An employer-landowner should look to its employment or lease agreements to determine its legal
duty for sanitation and security. See a labor and employment attorney for further guidance.
Liability for Disability Benefits
 An employee may be exposed to the disease in the course of employment, which the employee
must prove with competent medical evidence.
 In this case, an employee is entitled to temporary disability benefits, reasonable medical treatment,
and an award for any resulting permanent disability.
Is your business at risk?
 Some industries are at a higher risk of exposure to contagious diseases.
 Exposure may be more likely in some industries, such as healthcare, emergency response, and
transportation; or where employees who have or are expected to travel to and from western Africa
or other geographical areas where the disease has been identified.
If your company is at risk, you may need to consider:
 Methods to protect your employees and others from potential exposure;
 Methods to protect employees before they travel to areas known to have experienced contagious
diseases; and,
 Procedures to follow when these employees return from such areas, such as quarantine or a
fitness for duty medical examination, or remote work during the incubation period if the employee
exhibits any symptoms.
 Consult with the Florida Department of Health at DiseaseControl@flhealth.gov for guidance on
a preventative or responsive plan to reduce exposure.
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i See Society for Human Resource Management article, http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/communicabledisease.aspx.
ii See EEOC Guide to How to Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/restaurant_guide_summary.html.
iii See CDC Diseases & Injuries, Ebola, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ebola/.
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