One of the most important things that employers can do is to make sure their human resources and leave policies are flexible and follow public health guidance, said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. If employees are sick, they need to be encouraged to stay home. If people begin to experience flu-like symptoms at work, they should be sent home and possibly encouraged to seek medical treatment.

Employers should review sick leave policies and ensure employees understand them, according to the guidance. Employers should try to make sick leave policies flexible for workers who may have to stay home with ill family members or if a child ™s school is closed, the CDC says.

Employers should consider offering vaccine against seasonal flu, and encourage employees to be vaccinated against seasonal and H1N1 flu, the guidance says.

Employers also might cancel non-essential face-to-face meetings and travel, and space employees farther apart, the report says. And employees who are at higher risk for flu complications might be allowed to work from home or stay home if the flu is severe, it says.

Keeping our nation ™s workers safe is a top priority, said Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris, who participated in the announcement. Faced with a renewed H1N1 challenge during the coming flu season, we are developing tools that will help ensure America ™s workers stay healthy and our businesses remain viable.

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