Imagine that you receive notice that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dispatched investigators to a commercial establishment owned, operated or managed by your company to conduct interviews and gather data in connection with a suspected infectious disease outbreak. You are advised only that the outbreak may potentially be linked to the establishment. The CDC, directly or through local public health officials, requests that you permit their representatives to inspect the premises and collect environmental samples to further the investigation. A cursory review of state and federal public health statutes confirms that the authorities have a legal basis to conduct such investigations, and to gather information and data from privately owned premises when there is a suspected public health emergency. In the meantime, local media outlets are publishing daily updates regarding the investigation, identifying your company’s establishment as a suspected source of the pathogen.

Faced with this scenario, general counsel and risk managers may reasonably conclude that the proper course of action is to allow the investigation to proceed with minimal, if any, supervision or oversight by company representatives. Public health investigators are then permitted to inspect the premises, interview your employees, and collect environmental samples and other data. At the conclusion of the site inspection, you are advised only that the investigation is ongoing and the results will be released in due course.

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