Review CDC guidelines on Suspected or Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in the Workplace. These guidelines also cover if employees are exposed to the virus. Watch Business Adaptation Training: Workplace Outbreak Procedures & Face Covering Requirements, produced by the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce and featuring an attorney from the Lewis & Clark College Small Business Clinic. This helpful video addresses questions like: “If you have an employee who travels to a hot spot in the country, can you require them to get a COVID test before returning to work working with a vulnerable population?” (Answer: “Yes. In fact, you have a duty to protect the workplace, your employees, and customers. It’s a good idea to make this a policy and let people know ahead of time that this will be the deal. Note that you can’t prohibit travel, but you can require employees to quarantine or get tested if they have traveled to a spot with a CDC level 3 warning.”) Although this is a local resource the issues, questions, and most of the guidelines are universal. Review the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Stores may be required to pay staff who miss work if the employee meets certain criteria. An employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because the employee: is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19; has been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19; is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis; is caring for an individual subject to a quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 or who has been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19; is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury. Generally, the FFCRA mandates that employers with fewer than 500 employees: Provide up to 80 hours of full paid sick leave if an employee is unable to work due to a government quarantine order or under the advice of a healthcare provider, and/or is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Provide up to 80 hours of two-thirds paid sick leave if an employee is unable to work in order to care for someone in quarantine or care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. Provide up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds pay if an employee is unable to work in order to care for a child.
The FFCRA provides employers with a refundable tax credit for reimbursement of the paid leave amount (up to what is required by FFCRA). Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for an exemption from the requirement to provide leave due to the need to care for a child. See this comprehensive FAQ for more information on how the FFCRA may apply to your store.
Call your insurance broker. Ask for recommended best practices to keep employees and customers safe, your coverage for COVID-related issues that may arise, and safety or operational policies you need to implement in your store to ensure your insurance policies, such as workers comp, employee practices liability, and general liability, will cover you in the case of a claim. Consult a labor attorney to review your COVID-related policies. Document all safety policies in writing for your records and take pictures of any safety changes you’ve made in your store. Know the travel restrictions in your state and the COVID status in states where your employees may be traveling to help inform case-by-case decisions. (For example, New York and other states are currently requiring anyone entering the state from high-risk states to self-quarantine for 14 days.) Watch for upcoming details about an ABA hosted webinar on this topic.
ABA will be sharing these challenges with the Senate Small Business Committee. As they consider potential future relief for small businesses, we want them to understand all of the challenges you’re experiencing. ABA is here for all of you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. Members can contact me directly or email the Membership, Advocacy, or IndieCommerce teams. Best, Allison |