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Firms struggle with workplace implications of SARS; legal concerns: privacy rights vs. safe and healthy work environment.

Article Excerpt
It seemed like the right thing for a company to do.

Following a U.S. State Department warning about the danger of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Vietnam, SureBeam Corp. recalled five employees involved in construction projects there back to its San Diego headquarters.

The possible cost to SureBeam? Failing to finish the irradiation and service systems in Vietnam as scheduled by June 30 will delay the firm's receipt of $1.5 million for the project, said David Rane, chief financial officer of the publicly traded company, which uses X-ray technology to destroy harmful food-borne bacteria.

But there may be another cost -- the potential liability employers may face if they don't deal with the possibility of SARS spreading in the workplace.

At SureBeam, the company's employee recall was a preemptive measure, Rane said.

The deadly virus hadn't spread to southern Vietnam, so there was little reason to fear that employees may be infected with SARS, or would spread...

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