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Employer Guide: Responding to Media Inquiries on COVID-19 and Workplace Illness

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Employer Guide: Responding to Media Inquiries on COVID-19 and Workplace Illness

March 17, 2020
Caroline J. Berdzik

“Company X Employee Tests Positive for Coronavirus”

 

 

In the coming weeks, countless employers will find themselves in the headlines.

As local and national media aggressively cover the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are reminded that they can’t control what makes the news.

But they can control whether media coverage causes panic, whether it hurts employees and stakeholders, whether it exposes an organization to legal claims or investigations, and whether it damages credibility.

Goldberg Segalla’s Employment and Labor practice and Strategic Communications team have collaborated to create a practical guide to responding to media inquiries and managing external communications related to rumored or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the workplace. The guide covers crafting an initial media statement, balancing elevated public health interests against individual privacy rights, preserving institutional credibility, avoiding employment claims and other legal risks, and ultimately moving the media’s attention on from your organization.

Click to request a copy: COVID-19 and Workplace Illness: Responding to Media Inquiries.


For more information or further guidance, contact:

Caroline J. Berdzik
Chair, Employment and Labor
609.986.1314 | cberdzik@goldbergsegallla.com

Peter J. Woo
Vice Chair, Employment and Labor
213.415.7209 | pwoo@goldbergsegalla.com

Aidan M. Ryan, APR
Strategic Communications Advisor
716.710.5859 | aryan@goldbergsegalla.com


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