Sick at Work
The United States stands out as one of the few rich nations in the world that doesn’t mandate any form of paid sick leave. About 40 percent of private-sector workers lack coverage from their employer. This means they will lose pay and even risk losing their jobs if they call in sick. Read the full article.

Employers play Dr. Mom to limit swine flu impact
Big businesses are spending serious time and money trying to limit the swine flu pandemic's impact on operations, from bankrolling video on good hygiene to training employees to cover for co-workers with critical jobs.

Companies from health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. to beverage can maker Ball Corp. are arranging for employees with flu symptoms or sick family members to work from home where possible, holding fewer in-person meetings, even discouraging handshakes. And hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes and tissues are at the ready everywhere as employers make keeping workers healthy their first line of defense. Read the full article.

White House Endorses Paid Sick Leave Bill
The H1N1 pandemic is raising concerns about people reporting to work sick and spreading the disease. The pandemic has given momentum to Congressional efforts to enact legislation that would guarantee paid sick days to tens of millions of workers — although it is far from clear that such legislation will be enacted. Those legislative efforts received added momentum on Tuesday when the Obama administration backed the Healthy Families Act, which would guarantee seven sick days a year to workers in companies with 15 or more employees.
Read the full article.

New York Businesses Get H1N1 Vaccine
To the list of hundreds of schools, hospitals, and community health centers that have received limited allocations of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, you can now add some of New York's largest employers. In the past week or so 13 companies, including Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS), have begun receiving small quantities of the vaccine, according to city health authorities. Read the full article.

Employers Brace for Swine-Flu Outbreaks
Swine flu has made Friday afternoons a lot busier for some employees of Hormel Foods Corp. As they wind down the week, staffers in the food maker's logistics, transportation and customer-service department take time to learn one another's jobs. The cross-training is meant to ensure that Hormel, based in Austin, Minn., can keep operating if many employees specializing in one task contract the flu simultaneously, says company spokeswoman Julie Craven. Read the full article.

Read the CDC's Preparedness Guide for Small Businesses

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