The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued an updated Technical Assistance Document addressing employer questions on what can be required under the Americans with Disabilities Act when employees are suspected of, or come down with, the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

The update covers issues including: how much information can be required from a sick employee in order to protect the rest of its workforce; whether an employer can force employees to take a flu shot (not if the employee has a medical condition or religious reasons for refusing); if employers are allowed to require employees to stay home if they have symptoms of the pandemic influenza virus (yes); and does the ADA allow employers to require doctors’ notes certifying fitness for duty when employees return from sick leave (yes).

According to the EEOC, the concept of “direct threat” will be important during an influenza pandemic, and that employers should be guided by the assessments made by either the Centers for Disease Control or state/local health authorities in determining whether the severity of the pandemic poses a direct threat in their particular locale.

“The assessment by the CDC or public health authorities would provide the objective evidence needed for a disability-related inquiry or medical examination,” the EEOC says. “During a pandemic, employers should rely on the latest CDC and state or local public health assessments. While the EEOC recognizes that public health recommendations may change during a crisis and differ between states, employers are expected to make their best efforts to obtain public health advice that is contemporaneous and appropriate for their location, and to make reasonable assessments of conditions in their workplace based on this information.”