Yes, your company can require Typhoid Mary to leave the building. The Department of Labor says that employers not only can send employees home, they can require them to take sick leave if they show symptoms of pandemic influenza.
The scare of the H1N1 flu virus has prompted the DOL to issue question-and-answer guidance on leave issues under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Two popular concerns: Can employees use FMLA to stay home to avoid getting the flu? The short answer is no. Can employees use FMLA leave to care for children whose school has shut down due to pandemic influenza? Again, the short answer is no.
Read more by browsing for "DOL Answers FMLA Questions Related to Pandemic Flu" by the Alexander Hamilton Institute.
DEAR JOYCE: I'm over 40, a high school graduate, and after l5 years am forced to change career fields. A neighbor, a pharmacist, suggests that I look into becoming a pharmacy technician. What do you think? -- C.P.P.
Check it out. Start with the government's Occupational Outlook Handbook, which you can read free online at bls.gov; search for pharmacy technicians.
Pharmacy tech as an occupational choice also is discussed by one of my favorite career experts in a revision of his classic work: Martin Yate's "Knock 'Em Dead 2010: The Ultimate Job Search Guide" (Adams Media).
Yate not only covers the basics, he explains lots of new trends and finer points. I'm not alone in admiring Yate's work: Financial Times calls it "The best book on job hunting."