OpEd: National Emergency should mean flexible employers...or hefty fines

Many employers have used the severe downturn in the economy to take advantage of employees and use any minor "incident" in their attendence to develop a case to fire them. Even in the face of the swine flu, we see employers not making any exeptions---

Employees should do the right thing and keep their kids home from school, and keep themselves away from work if they show symptoms of the swine flu. Employers who take action against employees who protect their health or the health of their family should face severe fines.

Declaring a national health emergency is nice. Now comes the necessity to make the safety precautions happen. Employers who are hostile to health and the health care of their employees should be noted and avoided in the marketplace.