Podcast: What Ebola Means for Employers

Hosted by: David Weisenfeld

With the Ebola virus having claimed thousands of lives in West Africa and a few cases having arisen in the US, this health scare does not appear to be going away any time soon. So how concerned should employers be about its risks?

On this podcast, Philadelphia employment attorney Jonathan Segal takes an in-depth look at the implications of Ebola on the workplace. Segal is the managing principal of the Duane Morris Institute, which provides training for HR professionals, in-house counsel and managers. His clients include more than a half dozen health care systems.

"There are some who say this is much ado about nothing, and that's very wrong," says Segal. "If you're in health care, if you're a hotel, laundry worker, anyone who could come into contact with body fluids, this is a very real issue."

Podcast: What Ebola Means for Employers

November 18, 2014

Segal acknowledges the risk of contracting Ebola is much lower for office workers than for those who work in health care, with a manufacturing plant that has the potential for a blood spill falling somewhere in the middle.

Other issues discussed include:

  • How to balance public safety concerns with individual rights;
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act; and
  • Special precautions for health care employers.

To hear all of Segal's insights about this high-profile health care story, listen to this XpertHR podcast.