Full Text
CITY OF BILLINGS LIFE THREATENING ILLNESSES POLICY INTRODUCTION The AIDs pandemic has focused the attention of public employers on their responsibilities both to their employees and to the public when an employee has AIDs or another life threatening disease. The following policy is intended to outline the responsibilities of the City to its employees and to the public with respect to such diseases. The City recognizes that employees with life threatening illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, or AIDs, may wish to engage in as many of their normal pursuits as their conditions allow. As long as the employees can meet the reasonable demands of their positions and medical evidence indicates that their conditions are not threats to others or themselves, managers should ensure that they are treated consistently with other employees. At the same time, the City has an obligation to provide a safe work environment for all employees and members of the public. Every precaution will be taken to ensure that an employee's condition does not present a health or safety threat to the employee, or other employees, or members of the public. POLICY The following policies will be in effect regarding employees with life threatening illnesses. 1. These employees will be treated the same as all other employees as long as they are able to meet acceptable performance standards and medical evidence indicates that their conditions are not threats to themselves or others. 2. Individual employee health conditions must be kept confidential. All reasonable precautions will be taken to protect employee health and medical information in accordance with Federal and State constitutional and other legal guarantees. 3. The City will provide the following resources for City employees with respect to life threatening illnesses: a. Management and employee education on specific life threatening illnesses. b. Referral to agencies and organizations that offer supportive services for life threatening illnesses. c. Benefit consultation to assist employees in effectively managing sick leave and other benefits. 4. When an employee is known to have a life threatening communicable disease, such as AIDs, reasonable efforts will be made to determine if co-workers or members of the public are at risk from having job related contact with the employee. If such risk is found, the City will provide any available information to co-workers or members of the public that is consistent with a compelling public interest or is allowed under confidentiality laws. The City will work closely with City- County Health Department in making such determinations. Employees may be reassigned if the ---PAGE BREAK--- public is at risk from direct contact such as emergency medical treatment. 5. For employees having life threatening diseases as well as all other employees, the City reserves the right to require an examination of anyone using sick leave, medical benefits, or workers' compensation benefits, or whose physical or mental condition interferes with the performance of his or her duties, or whose physical or mental condition creates a health or safety threat to the employees, other employees or members of the public, by the medical doctor, or appointed by the City. GUIDELINES FOR MANAGERS When dealing with situations involving employees with life threatening illnesses, managers should: 1. Remember that an employee's health condition MUST be kept confidential. Precautions must be taken to protect information regarding an employee's health condition. The employee should be informed, however, that the City Administrator must be notified to ensure the best handling of the situation. 2. Contact the City Administrator's Office or the Human Resources Department if information is needed about life threatening illness, or if further guidance is needed in managing a situation involving an employee with a life threatening illness. 3. Contact the City Administrator's Office if there is any concern about the possible contagious nature of an employee's illness. It will be determined if a statement should be obtained from the employee's attending physician that continued presence at work will pose no threat to the employee's co-workers or customers, or that the employee will not be at risk of severe illness from exposure to co-workers. 4. Be sensitive and responsive to employee and co-workers' concerns, and emphasize available employee education for life threatening diseases.