EFFECTIVELY DEALING WITH S.A.R.S. IN THE WORKPLACE

EFFECTIVELY DEALING WITH S.A.R.S. IN THE WORKPLACE Presented by: Sherrard Kuzz LLP and Dr. Neal Sutton

Agenda • Introduction • What is S.A.R.S. • Medical Considerations for Employers (Dr. Neal Sutton) • The Medical Aspects of S.A.R.S. • S.A.R.S. in the Workplace: Precautions • S.A.R.S. and Travel

Agenda • Legal Considerations for Employers (Sherrard Kuzz LLP) • Employer’s Duties • Employee Benefits • Employee Rights • Key Tips for Employers

Introduction • What is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (S.A.R.S.)? • S.A.R.S. is a severe form of pneumonia, accompanied by a fever. Other symptoms of S.A.R.S. include muscle aches, headaches, and sore throat. A small number of people with S.A.R.S. can become severely ill. • Currently, the cause of S.A.R.S. is unknown, and no specific agents have been identified.

Medical Considerations for Employers (Dr. Neal Sutton) • The Medical Aspects of S.A.R.S. • S.A.R.S. in the Workplace: Precautions • S.A.R.S. and Travel

Legal Considerations for Employers • Employer’s Duties • Employee Benefits • Employee Rights

Employer’s Duties • Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) • The OHSA imposes a duty on Employers to take reasonable steps to protect the health and safety of its employees and to ensure that the workplace is safe.

Employer’s Duties • Occupational Health and Safety Act • In the context of S.A.R.S., an employer must consider what measures can be reasonably implemented to: • Prevent the introduction of S.A.R.S. in the workplace; and/or • Limit and remove the risks if the workplace is exposed to S.A.R.S.

Employer’s Duties • Safety measures should include the implementation of specific safety precautions and education. Consider: • Providing Individual Bottles of Anti-Bacterial Soap/Gel.

Employer’s Duties • Providing Washing Instructions. • Monitoring for Symptoms of S.A.R.S. • Education updates to employees with Respect to S.A.R.S., including medical facts, symptoms and precautions. • Restrict Out-Of-Country Travel to High-Risk Destinations.

Employer’s Duties • Require Home Quarantine for Potential Victims of S.A.R.S. • Instruct and Require Workers to advise Management of any Potential Exposure to S.A.R.S. • Require visitors to fill out screening documents.

Employer’s Duties • Post notices in the workplace directing employees to go home if suffering from any symptoms and notify the Employer immediately. • Providing Gloves and/or Masks.

Employer’s Duties • HUMAN RIGHTS CODE(OHRC) • An Employer must ensure that discrimination and/or harassment on the basis of a prohibited ground, does not occur in the workplace.

Employer’s Duties • HUMAN RIGHTS CODE In the circumstances of S.A.R.S., the most relevant prohibited grounds are likely to be: • Disability • Place of origin • Race • Ancestry

Employer’s Duties • Avoiding S.A.R.S. Related Violations of the OHRC • Employers must not discriminate against employees because they, or their family members, may have contracted S.A.R.S. or have visited, or came from, countries that are S.A.R.S. hotspots.

Employer’s Duties • Avoiding S.A.R.S. Related Violations of the OHRC • Employers must not harass employees through use of threats, insults, probing and personal questions that arise solely because the employee, or their family members, may have contracted S.A.R.S. or have visited, or came from, countries that are S.A.R.S. hotspots.

Employer’s Duties • Avoiding S.A.R.S. Related Violations of the OHRC • Employers must avoid, and instruct employees to avoid, adopting and encouraging stereotypes and generalizations about S.A.R.S. and its victims.

Employer’s Duties • CAUTION: • Preventative conduct or measures that impact on an individual employee but are not based on a legitimate, provable fear of contamination can be a violation of the Human Rights Code.

Employer’s Duties • DUTY OF ACCOMMODATION • An Employer has an obligation to accommodate an infected employee (to the point of undue hardship).

Employer’s Duties • Possible Accommodations could include: • Paid leave of absence by utilizing: • Short Term Disability Benefits • Sick Days • Vacation Days

Employer’s Duties • Possible Accommodations could include: • Allowing an employee to work from home • Allowing a flexible schedule to accommodate medical appointments

Employee Benefits • Employers are wise to make efforts to eliminate, or at least reduce, employee fears of being "penalized" for not attending work if they become ill with S.A.R.S. or are under quarantine. You do not want infected employees coming to work out of fear of losing their wages or their jobs

Employee Benefits • Options for compensating employees include: • Pay employees their regular pay during the period of a S.A.R.S. related absence; • Allow the employee to exhaust sick leave or STD benefits; • Allow the employee to take vacation time or lieu days.

Employee Benefits • Employment Insurance Act – Sick Benefits • In response to S.A.R.S., the federal government has amended the regulations to the Act to remove the usual two-week waiting period for S.A.R.S.-related cases.

Employee Benefits • Employment Insurance Act – Sick Benefits • Also, there is no longer an up front requirement for a medical certificate where individuals are under quarantine by order or recommendation of a public health official or if asked by their Employer, a medical doctor, a nurse or other person in authority. • A Record of Employment will be required.

Employee Benefits • Employment Standards ActEmergency Leave • The ESA provides that employees in organizations that regularly employ 50 or more employees are entitled to 10 unpaid emergency leave days per calendar year.

Employee Benefits • Employment Standards Act Emergency Leave • Emergency leave entitlement would apply to: • Employees who are inflicted with S.A.R.S. or under quarantine; and • Employees ill or under quarantine or caring for family members, including children at home because of a school closure.

Employee Rights • Occupational Health and Safety Act ("OHSA") • Work Refusals • Employees, other than police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, and hospital workers, can refuse to work if the condition of the workplace "is likely to endanger" their health or safety. • Any work refusal, including a refusal on the basis of a potential exposure to S.A.R.S., must be honest and reasonably held.

Employee Rights • Work Refusals • Based on our inquiries, we anticipate that the Ministry may expedite S.A.R.S. investigations by performing them over the telephone. We anticipate that in determining refusals, the Ministry will rely on the latest information from the appropriate health authorities.

Employee Rights • Workplace Safety and Insurance Act ("WSIA") • The WSIA provides compensation for: • “Personal injuries or illness arising out of the course of employment"; and • To a worker who "suffers from and is impaired by an occupational disease that occurs due to the nature of one or more employments in which the worker was engaged."

Employee Rights • Workplace Safety and Insurance Act ("WSIA") • Workers who contract S.A.R.S. in the course of their employment may be entitled to benefits under the Act. However, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has issued a policy update advising that workers who are symptom free, even if under quarantine or sent home on a precautionary basis, will not receive coverage.

Key Tips for Employers • Develop a S.A.R.S. Protocol • Keep employees Informed • Consider Internal Work Place Education • Develop an Emergency Contingency Plan Now and for the Future

SHERRARD KUZZ LLP 155 University Avenue, Suite 1500 Toronto, Ontario M5H 3B7 Phone: 416.603.0700 Fax: 416.603.6035 Website: www.sherrardkuzz.com

EFFECTIVELY DEALING WITH S.A.R.S. IN THE WORKPLACE