Business Re-opening Questions and Resources
May 20, 2020
Follow up - Virtual Princeton Business Forum from May 14
Reopening - Human Resources and Labor Law
The topic of COVID-19 in the employment arena is vast because it covers virtually every aspect of the employer/employee relationship. Most employers will need to return to work in phases as the Governor issues new orders that allow businesses to reopen. As new concerns are raised, guidelines will continue to evolve, so employers need to be flexible. Businesses should do an analysis of their operations including a review of internal policies and practices. What works for one employer doesn’t necessarily work for another.
Before returning employees to work
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Consider what aspects of PPE you will need to properly and safely return your employees to work. The CDC, OSHA, EEOC have published rules and guidance. You will need to train employees in the proper use of PPE.
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Take a look at your cash flow and business operations - whether or not you were successful in getting PPP loans or have other sources of capital, you need to plan how you will manage your payroll with possible lags in your receivables when you are eventually back up and running.
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Develop a timeline for reopening - pick a date in the future and build a plan to work through potential reopening.
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Establish a good communication mechanism with your employees. It is important to be able to communicate with them on a timely basis. Ask employees to update their contact information even if they are currently working or out collecting unemployment.
Returning employees to work
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Ask employees to check their temperature before coming to work. Remind them to stay home if they are not feeling well. There are many ways to compensate employees through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and other programs.
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Set up a notification process and designate a point of contact for employees to notify when they are feeling sick and not able to work.
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Employers are allowed to take employees’ temperatures. The temperature data you collect needs to be treated as confidential medical information. Set up a protocol so that employees do not learn of other employees’ temperatures or health conditions.
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Ramp up sanitation methodologies in the workplace. Check EPA and CDC websites for cleaning guides and approved cleaning products.
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When people come back to work, you need to focus on limiting contact and enforcing social distancing. Consider forming multiple teams, such as Red Team/Blue Team, and rotate the schedules to minimize physical contact.
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In lunch and break rooms, consider: limiting access by leaving only 1 or 2 chairs per table, limiting refrigerator space and items allowed, removing water coolers.
FAQs
1. How do you deal with staff who are uncomfortable or decline to return to the workplace?
When you deal with employees who don’t want to return to work when you tell them you have a job available for them, the issue is going to be the exact reason the employees refuse to return. Examples: If an employee doesn’t want to return to work because they are paranoid about getting ill, that’s not sufficient, and their refusal to return to work would technically jeopardize their unemployment compensation benefits. An employee who is the primary caregiver of a child and is unable to return because the child's school is closed may be entitled to benefits under FFCRA. An employee who is immune-compromised or has a household member who is immune-compromised may be eligible for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the NJ Law Against Discrimination.
2. Are small businesses allowed to take temperatures of clients or visitors? What is the threshold for COVID-19 temperature checks?
Yes, you are allowed to check temperatures of clients and visitors. The current CDC guideline is 100.4F degrees or higher for a high probability of being infected with the virus or otherwise being ill. Other states are imposing different temperature thresholds, but Governor Murphy has not yet done so.
3. Face coverings - are employers required to provide them or can they require employees to provide their own?
This is an unanswered question under Governor Murphy's orders. Some states are mandating that employers provide masks and gloves for employees; it tends to be industry-specific. What we will likely see from Governor Murphy is that the employer is responsible for making sure employees are wearing masks in public spaces of work; if an employee arrives without a mask, the employee must be provided with a mask or sent home; the default is that ultimately the responsibility falls on the employer to make sure people who are in your space are following appropriate social distancing and wearing appropriate PPE, including masks.
4. Liability and liability insurance. What if it's possible to trace the source of an infection to a specific business, employer, etc.?
This is an issue that is getting a lot of debate. Ultimately, regardless of contact tracing, if you can show you are requiring the appropriate PPE in your workplace, it’s going to be very hard to establish that your business was the source of infection.
Mayor Lempert
Non-essential retailers and curbside pickup
Governor Murphy's new executive order allowing non-essential retail establishments to open with curbside pickup requires the retailer to physically place the goods purchased into a customer's car. The Municipality interprets the order to also allow curbside pickup service for customers arriving on foot as long as the exchange of merchandise is contactless. The Municipality is planning to designate curbside pickup zones.
Resiliency fund taking shape
The goal with the resiliency fund is to capture some of the public support for businesses and channel it in a way that would be most effective. The fund would target small businesses that do not have access to other sources of capital. Funds would be provided as a combination of grants and low-interest loans.
Funds would be used to defray costs of adapting to changes required by COVID-19, such as new online ordering systems, installing plexiglass shields or other improvements to encourage social distancing. Funds could be applied toward expenses even if they have already been incurred.
The resiliency fund team is in the information gathering phase. They are working on the logistics of the fund, including where it would be housed and setting it up to minimize management fees. They are also working on leads for funding.
Possible criteria for eligibility:
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For-profit storefront businesses only; corporate chain businesses would not be eligible
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Less than $2 million in annual revenues
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3-50 full-time equivalent employees
Open questions:
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Are independently owned and operated franchises eligible?
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What are typical costs for adapting to reopen?
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What is the right balance of grants vs. loans?
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What size of grant or loan would be meaningful?
PPE Vendors
Chief Nicholas Sutter of the Princeton Police Department is compiling a list of vendors that can provide local businesses with safeguarding and cleaning products they need as they reopen. The Princeton Police Department has no affiliation whatsoever with these vendors other than contacting them to see if they could be of assistance:
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Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has supplies of face masks and hand sanitizer for large orders. Please contact Church & Dwight at: 800-524-0316 #3. For questions, please feel free to call them at 1-800-524-1328 between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM ET or visit their corporate website at https://churchdwight.com.
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Dot Designing (242 Possum Hollow Road, Monroe Twp, NJ) has supplies of 2-ply and 3-ply cloth face masks. Please contact Adi Nikitinsky at 732-221-3604 to order masks.
Other Vendors
Queuing App
Waitlist Me is available for iOS, Android and web. If your business needs help getting set up with the app, please contact Tigers for Nassau at ssandhu@princeton.edu.
Promote Your Business on PUTV
Princeton University is offering “storefront” retail, restaurant and service businesses the opportunity to promote their business on PUTV at no charge. Advertisements will run between University programming which consists of lectures and performances. [more info here]
Share Your Story
We invite businesses to share their experiences in weathering the COVID-19 crisis. If you would like to share your story at our next forum, please contact James Steward at jsteward@princeton.edu.
