Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1311385
PalletCentral • November-December 2020 13 Signs posted throughout the facility should remind everyone to maintain proper social distancing, keep washing their hands and wear their masks. "Employers should ensure their workers refrain from unnecessary touching or congregating, including in cafeterias and conference rooms," says Susan Gross Sholinsky, Vice Chair of the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice of Epstein, Becker Green in New York. In deciding what to do and not to do with their workplaces, businesses can obtain guidance from the government. Local and state authorities are issuing discretionary guidelines and mandatory directives. Some are very detailed, limiting the number of people permitted in a workspace, for example, to 25 percent or 50 percent of a room's normal capacity. At the federal level, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are issuing regulations and return to work advisories ranging from social distancing to the ventilation of workspaces to health screenings for employees. Taking Temperatures Federal and state authorities are also offering advice on a popular method for reducing the risk of infection: taking the temperatures of arriving employees. "The prevailing guidance from the CDC is that any temperature above 100.4 degrees warrants sending the employee home for the day," says Evans. "If the temperature is above normal, but below 100.4 degrees, then the guideline is to wait 15 minutes and take the temperature again to see if it goes up above 100.4. Temperature checks may be more important in hot spots than elsewhere," says Evans. Health procedures of any kind can pose legal issues. "Taking temperatures as people come into the workplace starts to raise wage and hour questions if people must stand in line," says Bob Gregg, Co-chair of the Employment Practice Law Group at Boardman and Clark LLC, Madison, WI. "Employers need to ask, 'How many minutes are workers standing?' And 'Should they be paid for those minutes?'" Privacy issues may also arise. "What do you do if a person has a fever?" poses Gregg. "How do you respond in a way which does not single them out? You don't want a gong to go off or to let others see you shuttle them to a holding pen. You want to handle things in a way that does not violate privacy." If doorway health inspections help boost morale, employers should realize they are not sure things. "An individual can be infected with COVID-19 without having a fever," says Evans. "However, the medical community still seems to think of temperature checks as important tools for ensuring workplace safety." No safety plan can succeed if too many people crowd into work areas, placing themselves and others at risk. Many businesses are moderating the flow of arrivals by bringing back people in stages or in groups. "Employers should consider the feasibility of staggering employee shift times or of establishing an alternating workday or workweek schedule," Coppersmith Photography Work Workers without worries in pre-COVID times: Will we ever get back to these less-rigid times remains unknown.