What to Consider for Re-Opening?
What to Consider for Re-Opening?
Governor Kemp of Georgia has made the decision to reopen several types of businesses and other states will soon follow. While there has been both opposition and support for this decision, there is a lot to consider before re-opening your business and you need to be ready. Safety must always come first.
The CDC and White House have established guidelines about the steps that each business needs to take before opening. On a local level states are also establishing guidelines for re-opening. In addition to following these guidelines, we also strongly recommend you consider the following HR topics as it relates to re-opening:
Revising and/or creating new policies for a myriad of topics, such as: social distancing, hosting meetings, remote work, taking temperatures and even testing (the EEOC just provided guidelines for this). Will these actions be required and if so, you will need to describe how they will work at your location(s).
How will you decide who can work remotely and who must physically be at your office? Will employees return in phases? What does that look like? How will you handle vulnerable employees (those over 65 or with underlying medical conditions)?
Not everyone may decide to return to work. They may choose to stay home for a number of reasons such as child care. How will you prepare to get work done if some employees choose to not return to their specific jobs?
Will you provide your employees with PPE, such as face coverings? Or, will they be encouraged/allowed to bring their own?
What will you do about furloughed employees? How will you determine who to call back and when?
With employees returning to a physical location, there may be cases of COVID-19 impacting your workforce and their families. Do you understand the benefits of paid sick leave and extended family leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act? Define the steps you will take if employees do test positive. What steps will you take to conduct contact tracing?
How will you handle instances of workers contracting COVID-19 if the worker contracts the virus while on the job? If the case is work related and meets certain other criteria, it must be recorded on your OSHA log.
How will you handle compensation and benefits with employees returning?
Do you have a business continuity plan?
Resources
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-small-business.html
https://www.georgia.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/executive-order-04.23.20.pdf