AR 7330: Communicable Disease - Employees

This regulation applies to all the Mt. Hood Community College locations. The intent of this regulation is to protect the safety and health of employees and the campus community.The College utilizes the following regulations related to employee communicable diseases. MHCC will align itself with the workplace recommendations and requirements applicable by law and follow the advice of its local health authority as it relates to communicable or infectious diseases. These diseases and their progression may vary in severity and change over time.

Serious communicable diseases may have the potential to affect everyone in the learning and working environment. For illnesses or diseases identified as being more severe in nature, the College expects that employees will be sensitive to symptomology and utilize sound judgment in determining their level of illness, following guidelines provided by their health care providers and available official public health information. A severe communicable disease is one that poses an immediate or impending threat to the health and well-being of employees. The College will follow the prevailing current public health guidelines. Minor illness or routine communicable diseases (such as the common cold or flu) will be mitigated between the supervisor and employee with the intent to limit the spread of the contagion by utilizing local guidance and personal discretion when symptomatic.

Mt. Hood Community College does not discriminate against any job applicant or employee based on the individual having a communicable disease. Applicants and employees shall not be denied access to the workplace solely on the grounds that they have a communicable disease. The College reserves the right to exclude a person with a communicable disease from workplace facilities, programs and functions if the organization finds that, based on a medical determination or public health standard, such restriction is necessary for the welfare of the person who has the communicable disease and/or the welfare of others within the workplace.

Employees who have, or suspect they have a communicable disease, should consult with their health care provider to receive reporting requirements. If instructed by their provider, the individual should immediately report the matter to the Associate Vice President of Human Resources or designee. The Associate Vice President of Human Resources or designee, in consultation with the Office of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety, will work with the employee to determine steps necessary to protect the disclosing person and other campus community members.

As a general rule, individuals diagnosed with a communicable disease and who have been cleared by a health care provider not to be infectious to others will be permitted to attend work and utilize college facilities in an unrestricted manner. Employees with communicable diseases will be allowed to work as long as they can maintain acceptable performance and not pose a health threat to themselves or others.

The College will handle each case on an individual basis. Decisions involving persons who have communicable diseases shall be based on current and well-informed medical judgments concerning the disease, the risks of transmitting the illness to others, the symptoms and special circumstances of each individual who has a communicable disease, and a careful weighing of the identified risks and the available alternative for responding to an employee with a communicable disease.

At reasonable intervals, the College will reevaluate each case so long as the individual has a communicable disease and remains employed. Employees should disclose any changes to the status of their condition, such as whether they should be in contact with others and if their current health status permits them to perform the essential functions of their job.

The College reserves the right to require a medical examination, by a College-appointed physician, of an employee to determine fitness for duty and ensure that the illness does not pose a direct threat to others.

An individual's health condition is personal and confidential. Every effort will be made to ensure procedurally sufficient safeguards to maintain personal confidence about persons who have communicable diseases. The College will comply with all applicable statutes and regulations regarding the confidentiality of medical information. Information shall not be released without permission of the employee except as permitted or required by law.

In the event of a communicable disease at Mt. Hood Community College, the college will work with the local health department and follow all local health department recommendations and regulations as applicable. 

Employees may also be subject to additional program-specific requirements in the event of exposure to a communicable disease. These protocols are maintained at the departmental level.

Additional guidance may be included in procedures and operational guidelines as defined by the college. Contractors and campus visitors will be subject to this guidance and will conform to the extent applicable.

Definitions:
"Communicable disease," sometimes referred to as an infectious or contagious disease, means an illness caused by an infectious agent or its toxins that occurs through the direct or indirect transmission of the infectious agent or its products from an infected individual or via an animal, vector or the inanimate environment to a susceptible animal or human host.

Approved: 6/9/2009
Revised: 9/22/2009, 4/9/2010, 6/21/2022
References:
  • CDC: Infectious Disease Framework
  • Equal Opportunity Employment Commission: Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the ADA 
  • Department of Consumer and Business Services: Occupational Safety and Health Division Chapter 437- Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Rules
  • US Department of Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Division: Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 654 (2021 Edition): Labor, Employment,
    Unlawful Discrimination Safety and Health Conditions in Places of Employment
  • Oregon Revised Statue Chapter 433: Disease and Condition Control; Mass Gatherings; Indoor Air, Section 283: Immunizations against measles for certain students at community colleges
  • Oregon Administrative Rules 333-019-0001 thru 333-019- 1030: Investigation and control of diseases: general powers and responsibilities

Notes: Rescinds Administrative Regulation AR-4080-F Infectious Disease (partial)