Under what circumstances should an agency communicate to its employees that there is a confirmed case among one or more of its employees (without identifying the person/specific office)?
The infected employee’s privacy should be protected to the greatest extent possible;
therefore, his or her identity should not be disclosed. In an outbreak of quarantinable
communicable disease or COVID-19, management should share only that information
determined to be necessary to protect the health of the employees in the workplace but
maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Supervisors should consult with their agency general counsel to determine what
information is releasable. Employees exposed to a co-worker with confirmed COVID-19
should refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential
exposure.
If social distancing, information sharing, or other precautions to assist employees in
recognizing symptoms or reducing the spread of the illness can be taken without
disclosing information related to a specific employee, that is the preferred approach.
Managers should work with their workplace safety contacts and local health officials to
stay apprised of information regarding transmission of the illness and precautions that
should be taken to reduce the spread of influenza or any other contagious disease in the
workplace. Managers should treat this as they would any other illness in the workplace
and continue to protect employee privacy interests while providing sufficient information
to all employees related to protecting themselves against the spread of illness.
Last Updated: 3/7/2020