Return to Work Protocol · Return to Work Protocol What Employers Need to Know About Returning...
Transcript of Return to Work Protocol · Return to Work Protocol What Employers Need to Know About Returning...
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www.bakerdonelson.com
Nakimuli O. Davis-Primer
Shareholder
Jackson
601.973.3612
Return to Work ProtocolWhat Employers Need to Know About Returning Their
Employees to Work in the Wake of COVID-19
Martha L. Boyd
Shareholder
Nashville
615.726.5652
Russell W. Gray
Shareholder
Chattanooga
423.209.4218
![Page 2: Return to Work Protocol · Return to Work Protocol What Employers Need to Know About Returning Their Employees to Work in the Wake of COVID-19 Martha L. Boyd Shareholder Nashville](https://reader034.fdocuments.in/reader034/viewer/2022042710/5f5cb2005b99bf05184c15b7/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
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Agenda
• Timing and Structure of Returning Employees
• Social Distancing
• Preparing the Workplace
− Cleaning
− Supplies, PPE
• Policies and Procedures
• Workplace Matters (e.g., job descriptions, visitors, hiring,
employment contracts, training, evaluations, etc.)
• Legal Issues
• Other Considerations
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Timing and Structure of Return to Work
Task force
Risk assessment
Workforce survey regarding ability to return to
work (relevant individual worker information)
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Timing and Structure of Return to Work
Timing of return
− Triggering events (i.e., applicable stay-at-
home orders, etc.)
− Phased-in return
− Staggered shifts
− Alternate work days
− Continued telework/remote work (flexibility as
needed if situations change)
Possible ADA accommodations
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Social Distancing is KEY
• Physical changes to work areas
− Minimum 6' between work
stations
− Dividers for production or
other line work
− Plexiglass or sneeze barriers
between workers and public
− Decrease unnecessary interactions
• Rules for common areas (break rooms, bathrooms, etc.)
− Consider one person at a time in bathroom
− Space tables in breakroom/limit people per table
− Limit elevator capacity
− Other rules to encourage and demonstrate distancing
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Social Distancing is KEY
• Staggered work and break/meal period times
• Limit in-person group meetings and/or number of attendees
− Continue to use conference calls and/or virtual meetings
when possible
− Limit conference room and other meeting space occupancy
(remove seating)
• Use signage to clearly provide social distance rules and
instructions
− Throughout facility
− Especially at "bottleneck" locations (i.e., timeclocks,
entrances, elevators, etc.)
• Lead by example!
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Enhance and Enable Social Distancing
1. Prepare the workplace
− Develop and implement enhanced cleaning
measures
− Procure and prepare necessary supplies
2. Develop or revise policies and procedures
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Enhanced Cleaning Procedures
• Consider professional assistance
− Address all aspects of facility cleaning
− Implement (visible) new and enhanced procedures
− Require certification or acknowledgment from third parties
that procedures and supplies meet CDC guidelines
• Implement procedures for disinfecting equipment, tools, etc.
• Keep accurate cleaning
records (area, times, by
whom, etc.)
− Consider posting
• Encourage employees to
regularly clean workspaces
and equipment
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Procure and Prepare Necessary Supplies
• Hand sanitizer
− As much as possible in as many different areas as possible
− Hand wipes or disposable hand towels
• Cleaning supplies
− New, visible cleaners and supplies
− Sanitizing wipes in common areas
• Thermometers and/or other diagnostics as appropriate
− Temperature checks
− COVID-19 testing
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Procure and Prepare Necessary Supplies
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
− Equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause
serious workplace injuries and illnesses
▪ E.g., masks, respirators, gloves, and eye protection
▪ Should be safely designed and constructed, fit comfortably
and encourage worker use
▪ Training:
▫ When is it necessary?
▫ What kind is necessary?
▫ How to wear it properly?
▫ Limitations of equipment
▫ Proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal
• Face coverings/masks or other protective measures− Not "PPE"
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Other Considerations
• OSHA also recommends engineering controls
− Installing high-efficiency air filters
− Increasing ventilation rates
− Installing physical barriers, e.g., clear plastic sneeze
guards
− Installing a drive-through window for customer needs
− Specialized negative pressure ventilation in some
settings, such as for aerosol generating procedures
(e.g., airborne infection isolation rooms in health care
settings and specialized autopsy suites in mortuary
settings)
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New or Updated Policies and Procedures
Example policies to consider or revise, where appropriate
− Health screening/temperature checks
▪ May maintain temperature log
▪ Self-certification of symptoms
− COVID-19 Illness Policy
▪ Require reporting symptoms, exposure, diagnosis
▪ Violation may result in discipline
− COVID-19 testing
▪ Parameters, costs, other considerations
Confidentiality:
− Store separately from personnel file
− May store in existing medical files
− May disclose name to public health agency
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New or Updated Policies and Procedures
Example policies to consider or revise, where appropriate
− Vacation, PTO and/or other leave
− Families First Coronavirus Response Act
▪ EFMLEA, EPSLA
− Attendance
− Travel policy
▪ Prohibit non-essential travel
▪ Quarantine after travel
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New or Updated Policies and Procedures
Example policies to consider or revise, where appropriate
− Telework
− Accommodations
▪ Reasonable accommodations
▪ High risk employees
▫ Case-by-case determination
− Discrimination, harassment,
and retaliation
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New or Updated Policies and Procedures
• Develop procedures for returning employees to work who
have been out with suspected or confirmed cases of
COVID-19
− Follow CDC guidance on when to end self-isolation
− May require medical certification
− Screening
− Tests
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New or Updated Policies and Procedures
• Develop procedures for employees who have a
temperature or exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 at
work/during screening:
− Isolate and separate employee while in the workplace
− Instruct employee to self-isolate at home
− Create contact list and notify them of potential exposure
− Instruct employee to follow CDC guidance on seeking medical
attention/testing
− Clean and disinfect the employee's workspace
− Identify potential return date based on CDC guidance
• Employees who have been exposed to COVID-19
− Instruct to Self-monitor for symptoms/temperature
− Quarantine employee
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Other Updates: Job Descriptions
Review job descriptions to ensure accuracy
Update job descriptions to include requirement that job must be performed in office, if applicable
Other updates?
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Physical and Mental Health
Considerations
• Telehealth options
− Research and consider resources through group
health insurer
− Research and consider public health resources and
options
• Employee assistance
− Employee assistance programs
− Public health resources and options
− Other emotional assistance
• Addiction assistance information
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Third Party Vendors and Other Visitors
• Strictly limit all outside visitors
− Public
− Vendors
− Consultants
− Other third parties
• Implement new or updated protocols for receiving/
handling deliveries
− Keep delivery persons outside facility
− Handle all deliveries with gloves
− Use other appropriate PPE when handling deliveries
− Disinfect packages where possible
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Third Party Vendors and Other Visitors
• Implement safeguards for required third party entry
− Temperature and/or other appropriate screening/testing
− Require acknowledgments for symptoms, exposure, risks,
etc.
− Require masks
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Employment Contracts and Offer Letters
• Employment contracts
− Consider "force majeure" clause related to pandemic
− Consider if other negotiations are necessary, e.g., start date,
remote work, etc.
• Job offers/hiring
− Same considerations
− May screen applicants after conditional job offer
▪ Must be consistent
− May take temperature or delay start date if individual has COVID-
19 or associated symptoms
− May withdraw job offer if individual is needed immediately but is
unable to start because of confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 or
symptoms
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Employment Training
• Using PPE
• Prohibiting employees from using other employees'
computers, phones, etc.
• Not reporting to work when ill
• Social distancing
• Hygiene
• Notice of potential infection
Training should include
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Ensuring Post-COVID-19 OSHA
Compliance
• Employers must assess occupational hazards to which
workers may be exposed
• OSHA has divided job tasks into four risk exposure
levels: very high, high, medium, and lower risk
• Follow OSHA guidance for each level
• Circumstances may require PPE
• Hazard assessment includes exposure response and
prevention
• Maintain cleaning and disinfecting procedures
• Follow reporting requirements
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Performance Reviews
• Honor past review schedule to extent feasible and
depending on commitments for periodic reviews
• Consider performance reviews via:
− Phone
− Zoom
− WebEx
− Other mediums outside of traditional office setting
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Potential Sources of Legal Liability
• Workers' compensation
• Employment discrimination (returning from furlough or
implementing other restrictions or changes in
employment terms)
• ADA refusal to accommodate and/or retaliation claims
• OSHA complaints
• Claims of violation of FFCRA
• Claims of violation of FMLA
• Claims of violation of wage and hour laws
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Retail and Service Obligations
• Create distance between cash registers to
encourage social distancing
• Place plexiglass between cashier and customers
• Discourage transactions that require use of pens
− Single-use of inexpensive pens
• Implement sanitation procedures for device usage
− Examples:
▪ Wiping down touch pads following use
▪ Use of disposable covers
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Establishing a Communication Plan
• Notify employees of:
− Expected return to work dates (and variations where
appropriate)
− Required pre-return certifications and surveys
− Notable policy changes and new policies and procedures
− Screening, social distancing, testing, PPE, and other
requirements
Inform employees that the employer takes the safety and
health of its employees seriously and is instituting
measures to mitigate potential workplace exposure
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Establishing a Communication Plan
Set a schedule for updates
Determine the medium for updates
Set clear reporting channels (for exposure, etc.)
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Questions?
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www.bakerdonelson.com
Nakimuli O. Davis-Primer
Shareholder
Jackson
601.973.3612
Return to Work ProtocolWhat Employers Need to Know About Returning Their
Employees to Work in the Wake of COVID-19
Martha L. Boyd
Shareholder
Nashville
615.726.5652
Russell W. Gray
Shareholder
Chattanooga
423.209.4218