Section 5-E1023. COMMUNICABLE DISEASES CONTRACTED BY EMPLOYEES

 

1023.1An employee with one of the following communicable diseases shall be excluded from the workplace and re-admitted under the following conditions:

 

(a)Chickenpox: The employee may return to the workplace six (6) days after the appearance of the rash;

 

(b)Conjunctivitis (“Pink eye”):

 

(1)Viral/Bacterial: The employee may return to work after any redness and discharge have disappeared. If the infection is confirmed, by smear or culture, the employee may return to work twenty-four (24) hours after commencement of antibiotic treatment with a physician’s note attesting to the diagnosis and the onset of treatment; or

 

(2)Allergic: The employee may return to work following submission of a physician’s note stating the diagnosis;

 

(c)Acute Diarrhea (e.g., Salmonella, Shigella):

 

(1)Infectious: The employee may return to work when he or she is no longer having diarrhea. Handwashing with soap and water after using the bathroom and before handling food shall be stressed; or

 

(2)Non-infectious (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, food allergy, reaction to medication): The employee may return to work upon submission of a physician’s note attesting to the diagnosis and the employee’s fitness for duty;

 

(d)Hepatitis: The employee may return to work upon submission of a physician’s note attesting to the employee’s fitness for duty;

 

(e)Measles: The employee may return to work four (4) days after the appearance of the rash;

 

(f)Meningitis: The employee may return to work upon submission of a physician’s note attesting to the employee’s fitness for duty;

 

(g)Mumps: The employee may return to work nine (9) days after the onset of swelling or earlier if swelling has subsided;

 

(h)Pediculosis (head lice): The employee may return to work after treatment and when hair is nit-free;

 

(i)Pertussis (“whooping cough”): The employee may return to work three (3) weeks after the onset of symptoms or seven (7) days after the onset of antibiotic therapy with a physician’s note attesting to the onset of such therapy;

 

(j)Pinworms: The employee may return to work with a physician’s note indicating that the employee has completed treatment;

 

(k)Ringworm: The employee may return to work with a physician’s note indicating that the employee is under treatment;

 

(l)Rubella (German measles): The employee may return to work four (4) days after the appearance of the rash;

 

(m)Scabies (“itch mite”): The employee may return to work upon submission of a physician’s note indicating that the employee has been treated with a prescription lotion;

 

(n)Strep infection (scarlet fever, strep throat): The employee may return to work within twenty-four (24) hours after beginning treatment with antibiotic drugs upon submission of a physician’s note indicating the onset of treatment and the employee’s fitness for duty; and

 

(o)Tuberculosis: The employee may return to work upon the written recommendation of the Tuberculosis Control Program of the District of Columbia Commissioner of Public Health.

 

1023.2Employees reasonably believed to have one of the diseases listed in §1023.1 may be referred to the Office of Employee Health.

 

1023.3A determination of whether, and/or under what circumstances, a food service employee with amebiasis, campylobacteriosis, giardiasis, hepatitis A, salmonellosis, shigellosis, typhoid fever or other food-borne illnesses, shall be able to work shall be made on a case-by-case basis by the District of Columbia Commissioner of Public Health.

 

1023.4As necessary, the District of Columbia Commissioner of Public Health shall be consulted regarding whether an employee infected with any other communicable disease shall be permitted to return to work in a capacity that involves contact with students or other employees.

 

1023.5Any infected employee determined to be fit to return to the workplace shall be treated in the same manner as any other School System employee, except that any restrictions or limitations in regard to the employee’s performance of his or her duties, recommended by medical personnel, shall be imposed.

 

1023.6School System personnel policies and procedures regarding fitness-for-duty examinations, the granting of leave, and termination shall apply to any employee with a communicable disease.

 

1023.7The Superintendent shall ensure that all School System personnel are provided with information concerning communicable diseases, including Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), AIDS-Related Complex (AR(C) and asymptomatic infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), on a continual basis, through classes, in-service training, community meetings and forums, literature, and other appropriate means, as determined by the Superintendent in conjunction with the District of Columbia Commissioner of Public Health.

 

1023.8Any information or record regarding an employee with a communicable disease is confidential and access to such information is to be limited to only personnel with a need to know. Disclosure of any information to individuals outside the School System may not to be made without the express written consent of the employee; however, suspected or confirmed cases of the following communicable diseases shall be immediately reported to the District of Columbia Commissioner of Public Health: measles, meningococcal meningitis, mumps, pertussis, rubella, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, and other food-borne illnesses (e.g., food poisoning).

 

1023.9For purposes of this section, “communicable disease” shall be defined in accordance with 22 DCMR § 201 The Superintendent shall periodically inform School System personnel regarding any change in this definition.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 1256 (February 26, 1988).

EditorNote

The phrase “Commission of Public Health” has been changed to “Commissioner of Public Health” throughout the section.