The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has advised federal managers to provide employees working abroad in regions struggling to contain the Zika outbreak with alternative work arraignments, according to a Federal Times article.
OPM Director Beth Cobert said in a memo released Monday, "We urge supervisors and managers to be mindful of the health risks in determining the need for work-related travel to Zika-affected areas...we recommend using appropriate flexibility to accomplish the necessary work using alternate means, such as teleconferencing."
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Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that can be transmitted sexually and has displayed a strong connection to the neurologically debilitating birth defect microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with irregularly small heads.
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