Co-worker has pneumonia. Everyone wants her to go home.
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| I work in a Federal agency and a coworker has pneumonia. Her doctor has told her to stay at home since she wouldn't stay in the hospital. Our boss told her Friday not to come in. However, coworker comes walking in this morning saying she still feels awful but after 3 weeks, she's bored at home. She looks terrible. Is she contagious? Can our boss require her to go home? |
Anonymous
|
Unless she has a physical component to her job description, i.e., is required to do heavy lifting, or she can be certified to be a threat to herself and others, she cannot be required to leave.
I doubt she is contagious, and even if she were, you cannot ban someone from the workplace on the grounds that they could make you ill unless it is a serious health thread -- i.e. epidemic illness. |
Anonymous
| threat, not thread. |
Anonymous
|
After 3 weeks, she should probably be back in the office. She has probably exhausted her leave too.
Just stay away if you can and send emails... |
Anonymous
| i could be wrong, but I think pneumonia develops almost as a complication of a previous, lesser illness. Build up in lungs etc. I think it's a problem for your coworker to be at work for sure, but not for you or the others. |
Anonymous
| It's painful to listen to the wheezing and coughing, but she's not contagious. When I get bronchitis I cough for months, literally MONTHS afterwards. I'm not contagious during that time. |
Anonymous
| Very unlikely that she is contagious. |
Anonymous
do you smoke? I used to 20 years ago and this would always happen for the last 5 years I smoked.I smoked for 12 years. The coughing scared the crap out of me. |
Anonymous
This makes me laugh! OP, I love this thread for some reason. |