Update: My Employee Keeps Coming To Work Sick

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past.

There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day.

Remember the letter-writer whose employee kept coming to work sick? Here’s the update.

I wrote to you back in May requesting help in managing a staff member who insisted on coming to work when he was ill – both when he was contagious and jeopardizing others, and when he was too ill to function in the workplace in a safe and healthy way. I was really wrestling with balancing the need for this employee’s right to medical privacy, their right to work, and the rights of both my staff and members of the public to not be jeopardized by his possible contagion. I really appreciated your reply and I read through all the comments – you have no idea how validating it was to hear from everyone supporting both the need and my responsibility to take action to protect my staff and members of the public. The staff member went on another vacation right when my original letter was published, which gave me a lot of time to think and plan, and by the time he was back from his vacation I felt fully prepared to tackle this issue.

First off: I called our HR assistant director to ask for guidance. She was remarkably helpful, and she said that while the phrasing in the employee instructions was “should stay home” if you’re sick, “should” can mean “must”, and that I could move forward with implementing that phrasing immediately. Then, I drafted signage to post in multiple locations in the staff work area/bathroom/break room, and I spoke with every employee personally about it to ensure they saw the signs and understood. Finally – and most importantly – I met privately with this staff member when he returned from vacation to explain these new guidelines and expectations, and to convey in no uncertain terms that any attempts to come to work when impacted by illness would be met with documented action. I stressed to him the need to protect and safeguard our colleagues – which appealed to his good nature, as he’s truly a nice person – and I also was very forceful in expressing to him that no staff member will engage in discussions about whether or not he should be at work, nor would any staff member be able to drive him home due to illness in the future. He accepted it all without argument, and we ended the discussion on good terms. I’m very, very glad to report that I have had no issues with this staff member about this since that meeting.

In case anyone would find it helpful, the verbiage I used on the staff-area signage is below. Thank you, Alison, and thank you to everyone who commented for your amazing help with this!

Guidelines for staff illness/symptoms

While the CDC has dialed back the restrictions regarding Covid, please read and understand the following based on guidance from **locality’s** Human Resources:

If you are symptomatic of any contagious illness, you must stay home until symptoms completely subside. Symptoms include, but are not limited to:

• Coughing (if you believe your coughing is “just allergies”, wear a face mask)
• Sneezing/congestion
• Sore throat
• Fever – Temperature of 100* or more — must go home and stay home until below 99* without fever-reducing medication for at least 24 hours
• Muscle/body aches
• Chills / body sweats
• Upset stomach (diarrhea/vomiting)

Returning to work after an illness:

You may return to work only after your symptoms have fully subsided; guidance suggests “getting better,” but HR clarified that you must be well to return to work, not just feeling less bad.
Masking: With any respiratory illness (including but not limited to Covid-19) the CDC suggests masking for 5 days after symptoms have fully cleared. If you have tested positive for Covid, you MUST wear a mask for at least 5 days after you have returned to wellness and can return to work; this is to prevent contagion from possible rebound infections.

Prevention:

• If you have been exposed to someone with a contagious illness (Covid, flu, etc.) please wear a mask to prevent the spread.
• Continue to use Clorox wipes to clean the circulation desk (keyboards, phones, etc.) and other high-traffic areas.
• Continue to practice good hand-washing techniques.
• Masking: masks are freely available to library staff. You have the City’s full support in deciding to wear a mask (for example, if you’re working the circ desk, if you’re helping someone on the computers, if you’re working one-on-one with a patron, etc.).
• Please err on the side of caution and do your part to maintain a healthy work environment by masking or staying home when you’re sick. Your actions to help keep our library patrons and library staff healthy is vital.

Please understand that it is your responsibility to recognize and manage your symptoms; do not come to work if you are symptomatic. If you are at work and develop symptoms during the workday, speak with your supervisor and leave work until your symptoms have fully subsided. If you have been exposed to anyone who’s been sick, wear a mask for 3+ days to make sure you don’t spread germs. If you are concerned about missing time, please talk with **supervisors** about make-up hours or to find out if WFH is an option.