As concerns about the potential scope of the H1N1 flu continue to grow, one question we keep hearing from clients is whether employees who believe they have contracted H1N1 in the workplace may have compensable workers’ compensation claims. In the vast majority of cases, we believe the answer will be a resounding "No."

Ohio defines an occupational disease as:

"a disease contracted in the course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different manner from the public in general."

Therefore, for instance, the office worker who contracts H1N1 because somebody in the next cubicle had it does not have a compensable claim. The situation is no different than the seasonal flu from year to year.

One likely exception to my general proposition come to mind:  healthcare workers, who by the nature of their work may be exposed to H1N1 in a greater and different manner than members of the general public. Childcare workers also may have an outside chance at establishing a viable claim. Even then, however, most healthcare and childcare workers will still have a difficult time proving actual causation; that is, that they actually contracted H1N1 as a result of their work rather than from a sick family member, at a restaurant or some other public place.

The H1N1 vaccine may also pose a potential risk if it ever becomes widely available. Workers who experience side effects from getting an H1N1 vaccine may claim they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. In the absence of evidence that the employer actually required its employees to get vaccinated and demonstrated illness based on any known side effects, these claims should be rejected.