Thursday, December 10, 2009
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST
Playback: Monday, December 14, 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST

Jim Dorsey

Arbitrator/Mediator

Bryna Warshawsky

Associate Medical Officer of Health
Middlesex-London Health Un

Kelsey Orth

Employer Counsel
Crawford, Chondon & Partners

Kim Patenaude

Union Counsel
Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck

Nancy Johnson

Occupational Health and Safety/Workers’ Compensation Specialist
Ontario Nurses’ Association

ISSUES:

With the H1N1 influenza outbreak upon us, it is essential that you become informed regarding the legal rights and obligations of employers and workers. In this discussion, an expert panel of labour and management counsel will analyse the implications of the pandemic from a variety of perspectives, and outline the legal issues, practical strategies and best practices associated with the current pandemic. Questions to be discussed will include:

• Can employers test employees who exhibit flu-like symptoms? Can employers conduct random testing of employees? Can an employer require diagnosed or symptomatic employees to remain off work until a medical certificate of fitness to return to work is provided? Is the employee entitled to be paid for lost time?
• What can employers do to ensure that infected persons do not put others in the workplace at risk? Can employers require employees to receive vaccinations or provide proof of immunization?
• What are the rights of employees who prefer to remain at home during an epidemic? What types of accommodations are possible?
• What sorts of programs exist/should be implemented to compensate employees who fall ill or are absent caring for sick relatives?
• Can employers require employees to report whether they have been diagnosed with the illness? Can the employer discipline an employee who fails to report being infected? Can the employer share this information with others in the workplace, in order to prevent spreading of the virus?
• Can health care workers and other front-line employees refuse to work during the pandemic? Can health care employees refuse to treat patients infected with H1N1?
• What is the role of the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) in the assessment and investigation of H1N1 in the workplace? In developing, monitoring and implementing hazard control policies and programs?
• What liabilities do employers potentially face under tort law for failure to protect employees from H1N1? What liabilities do they face under occupational health and safety legislation? Is an employee who contracts H1N1 from the workplace entitled to workers' compensation benefits?
• Is H1N1 a "disability" under human rights legislation? Do employers have a duty to accommodate employees who have contracted the disease?
• What strategies have employers implemented so far in dealing with epidemics in the workplace? What are the best practices?

$195, plus GST (Registrations must be paid in advance of the audio conference). Registration costs are per listening site/telephone, so you can have any number of people listening at your location for one low price. Click here for registration information.