As it is flu season and since the media has created scare about the H1N1 flu, I have had several complaints from employees about one employee’s cough. I talked to the employee who has been employed at this company for 15 years and learned that

As it is flu season and since the media has created scare about the H1N1 flu, I have had several complaints from employees about one employee’s cough. I talked to the employee who has been employed at this company for 15 years and learned that the chronic cough the employee had her entire life was due to asthma and that it was not contagious. I advised the employee that, if possible, the employee should try to go to the restroom to cough when she felt an attack coming on. This way the other employees who filed the complaints against her would feel like she was thinking of them and that she was taking the "extra precautions" to not encourage the spread of the flu. Of course the employee became very defensive and claimed that I was discriminating against her. She told me that I should tell everyone to live with her cough and tell everyone that her cough was not contagious. I told her that I can not make an announcement to the whole office regarding her health issues because I would be violating her privacy. She said that this issue is not private and by her getting up to go to the bathroom, she felt it was drawing more attention to herself and to her cough. I feel like I was right in how I handled this situation and I don’t feel like I was being discriminatory. I am curious to know; what is your feedback on how I handled the situation?? Thanks!

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