The United States Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has declared the 2014 Ebola epidemic the largest
in history. While the outbreak has primarily affected certain
countries in West Africa, the transmission of the virus in the
United States to a few individuals has caused widespread fear among
the public, even though the actual risk of the disease spreading is
extremely low. Nevertheless, employers must be mindful of the
various employment laws when determining how they will manage
workplace concerns about the virus and plan for continuing
operations in the unlikely event that an employee has been exposed
to the virus.
First and foremost, employers cannot refuse to hire an
individual or prohibit an employee from coming to work simply
because that person is West African or may have recently visited a
West African country. Similarly, employers should also be proactive
in dealing with any harassment of West African employees that may
occur. The fact that
