What to do with Sick Employees

What to do with Sick Employees ? Habitually Sick Employees, can I fire them ?

What to do with Sick Employees ?

What can Employers do?

What can an employer do with an employee who is often absent? The employee says illness is the cause. The absenteeism is affecting productivity and the morale of other staff members. Sound familiar? What options are available to you?

Q. What happens if I fire an employee who is habitually sick? Or at least this is the reason he gives for being absent from work on a regular basis. This employee works in a production area as part of a team. His continual absences from work mess up the work routine and productivity of the whole department. Coworkers are as frustrated as I am.

A. You’re between a rock and a hard place. If you fire a truly ill employee you could be headed for trouble. (The rock.) If you allow an employee to immobilize you from taking action even if the employee is not truly ill, you’re looking at sagging production rates and poor employee morale. (The hard place.) You ask yourself what to do with sick employees ?

Before you take any actions, you need to be aware of laws which may restrict what can legally do.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers employees of private companies which have 15 or more workers. The ADA protects employees whose illnesses or disabilities are considered serious enough to limit a major life activity. And in addition, don’t forget the Family and Medical Leave Act (if you have 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius). Your state may also have laws offering protection to employees with disabilities or serious illnesses.

There is no course of action which will lead you to a quick, safe solution. But, you do have some rights as an employer. Limited as they may be, don’t fail to know what they are and use them. Here are some of the rights and protections you may have in your situation:

You may have the right to require your employee to be examined by a doctor to see if he or she is able to work.

You do have the right to expect your employee, who accepted a full-time job, to be available for work as the job requires, unless the employee qualifies for a job accommodation (under the ADA) or a medical leave of absence (under the FMLA).

It is the employee’s responsibility to make you aware of a health condition which interferes with his or her work.

Even if you are covered by laws like the ADA and FMLA, your employee’s health condition or reason for his request may not qualify under the law.

Note: When considering if the employee is protected by the ADA, keep in mind you must interpret and apply the ADA broadly. The ADA (as amended by the 2008 ADA Amendments Act) defines disability to include – not just a current, obvious disability – but also an “impairment that is episodic or in remission… if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.” The term disability also extends to persons regarded as having such an impairment. An applicant or employee is regarded as having such an impairment if the “individual establishes that he or she has been subjected to an action prohibited under this Act [the ADA] because of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity.”

what to do with sick employees

The amended ADA defines major life activities broadly to include such activities as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, learning, reading, reaching, interacting with others. Major life activities also include such major bodily functions as breathing, immune system function, digestive and bowel function, and bladder, musculo-skeletal, and brain functions.

Examples of disabilities covered under the expanded disability and major life activities definitions include epilepsy, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, asthma, diabetes, major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and cancer.

ADA obligations apply to private employers with 15 or more employees. Covered employers need to train supervisors to broadly extend ADA protection to applicants and employees. Individuals must be evaluated according to their qualifications, not their disabilities.

what to do with sick employees

What to Do:

Talk with the employee about his excessive absenteeism. If illness is the reason, ask if he expects his condition to improve so he can do his job. Ask if there is something you as the employer can do to help. Be honest with the employee. For instance: “The situation we now have is not working. What you and I need to do is reach an acceptable solution here. What do you suggest?”

In this situation, clients of Vision HR call in and talk with our HR Experts to get resolution and help towards what actions to take. Other similiar situations occur and having a partner like Vision HR is valuable to help you get answers and stay focused on the job at hand. To see how to partner with Vision HR, call 386-255-7070 and speak to an expert about your needs.