Precautions All Employers Should Take amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

In early March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic which resulted in widespread closures of businesses throughout Arizona. On May 15, 2020, Governor Ducey let the stay-at-home Executive Order expire and gave the green light for companies to re-open statewide. As the state re-opens, employers are faced with the challenge of balancing the promotion of their business and health and safety of its employees and customers alike. Although the operation of businesses during the COVID-19 Pandemic is a new concept, business owners should take proper safety precautions to not only promote health and safety in general, they should do so in order to help insulate their business from successful legal claims.

Now that business is once again “open”, employees return to work, and customers visit their favorite stores and restaurants, it is just a matter of time before individuals begin filing lawsuits against businesses, claiming that they contracted the COVID-19 Virus at the business. Although there is not one way to prevent or guarantee success against such claims, the more safety precautions the employer takes, the better chances the employer has to prevail.

Protecting Employees

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published the “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19”. In the publication, OSHA provides employers with guidance on operating its business during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The guidelines range from general steps all employers can take, to specific steps based on the business’ “Exposure Risk”. Based on certain criteria, OSHA classifies all businesses into four categories: (1) Very High Risk; (2) High Risk; (3) Medium Risk; and (4) Low Risk. The guidance ranges anywhere from frequent sanitization (low risk) to supplying sufficient personal protection equipment (High and Very High Risk). It is recommended that all employers determine their respective classification and do their best to follow the guidelines.

The link to the “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19” can be found here.

On April 4, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its own guidelines regarding businesses and the precautions they should take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to not only its employees, but also the customers. The recommendation includes, but are not limited to:

1. Develop policies that encourage sick employees to stay at home without fear of reprisal;
2. Encourage frequent handwashing;
3. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces (e.g., door handles, cash registers, workstations, sink handles, bathroom stalls);
4. Eliminate or limit public contact with communal items/devices (menus, pens, condiments, etc.);
5. Post signs in highly visible locations that promote everyday protective measures and describe how to stop the spread; and
6. Ensure that ventilation systems operate properly and increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possible.

The link to the CDC guidelines can be found here .

Although a business cannot currently guarantee the safety and protection against COVID-19 for all of its employees and customers, there are reasonable steps that it can take to help prevent or reduce the spread of the virus. These seemingly basic steps can possibly be the difference between losing and prevailing in a civil matter related to the COVID-19 virus.