As a business owner, you can do your part to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and protect your employees. Now is the time to review and update your health, safety, and leave policies to keep your employees safe. Be sure to keep your staff updated and informed of your current policies and any changes.
Stay Informed on Government Orders
As we learn more about the spread of the virus, the government is responding in ways that may impact your business. Stay on top of the current federal, state, and county orders. If you are not providing an essential service, you may be required to close your doors to the public and your employees may be required to stay home. It is important to follow these orders to keep your employees and your community safe.
Review Your Leave and Scheduling Policies
Take a look at your current sick and family leave policies, and update them as necessary to stop the spread of the virus. Communicate to your managers and your staff that if they are feeling ill or have any symptoms of the virus, or if anyone in their household has exhibited symptoms, they are encouraged to stay home. If your policy currently requires employees to obtain a doctor’s note or other medical verification of an illness to take leave, consider temporarily waiving this requirement.
Note that new federal laws have passed requiring businesses to provide additional paid leave to employees impacted by the Coronavirus. The amount of time off you must provide and the salary paid depend on the particular circumstances. Be sure your current policies are in compliance and meet at least the minimum federal standards.
Even if employees are not sick, you can take proactive steps to maintain a healthy workforce. If at all possible, allow employees to work remotely from home. For employees who cannot work from home, consider changing scheduling practices so employees can come in on alternate shifts and limit their exposure.
Sanitation and Hygiene Tips
If your business will keep a physical space open, it is important to implement a sanitation and hygiene policy. COVID-19 can spread by touching contaminated surfaces and objects, and by standing close to someone with the virus. Your workplace can minimize the chance of spreading COVID-19 by implementing a few sanitation and hygiene policies, such as:
- regularly wiping all surfaces with disinfectant
- encouraging staff to regularly wash their hands
- maintaining sanitation supplies, including soap, hand sanitizer, and other cleaning products
- discouraging behaviors that spread the virus, such as shaking hands and sharing dishes or utensils, and
- maintaining at least six feet between individuals whenever possible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a number of free educational posters you can print and post around your workplace. Encourage healthy behavior by displaying information on proper handwashing, respiratory hygiene, and staying home when you are sick.
Business Travel Policies
If your employees travel for work, these policies should be reviewed. At this time, the CDC recommends that businesses postpone all non-essential air travel. Consider the benefits or risks of asking an employee to travel and how you can minimize the spread of the virus. If the individual is someone who is more at risk of serious illness either due to their age or medical condition, avoid asking the individual to travel if at all possible.
If travel is necessary, be sure to review national travel advice, as well as airline cancellations. Beware that even if your business location does not have a shelter-in-place order, new cities and counties are implementing these orders every day. Finally, if an employee must travel, advise the employee on the health risks and sanitation tips to stay safe.
Meeting and Event Policies
Meetings and events should be postponed or canceled, particularly large gatherings of over 250 people or events where high risk individuals would be in attendance. In addition, if your community is suffering a substantial spread of the virus, the CDC recommends that you cancel gatherings of any size.
If you decide to go forward with the event, it is important to educate your staff about sanitation and hygiene, contact local health officials about the event, and be prepared to separate anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms. Create a plan for how you will handle a situation where an attendee becomes ill, such as designating a space where they can isolate, and how you will transport them to the hospital. Finally, keep track of anyone who was at the meeting and their contact information. If someone who attended contracts the virus, all should be notified.
If you require in-person meetings for various business functions, consider if you can update any of these policies to allow for virtual meetings, utilizing phone and video conferencing. In reviewing your policies, be aware that some legal requirements for in-person meetings have changed in response to COVID-19. For instance, many states are now allowing for virtual notary services.
