States and businesses are on their own based on a CDC official’s statement to the Associated Press that the much-anticipated “Guidance for Implementing the Opening up America Again Framework” (“Guidance”) will “never see the light of day.”
The 17-page CDC Guidance report or playbook was expected to be released on Friday, May 1. Reports last week, however, stated that the Guidance was “shelved.” The document, described in various news stories last week, was “far more detailed” than prior CDC materials related to the reopening of businesses across the nation. News articles also reported that the Guidance had "site-specific decisions related to reopening schools, restaurants, summer camps, churches, day care centers and other institutions." One explanation for shelving the project focused on concerns that the virus is affecting different states and communities in unique ways; there simply is no “one-size-fits-all.”
While this sentiment is true in certain respects, there are many common questions businesses / employers must ask themselves, strategically analyze, and plan to handle as they bring employees, customers, and other third parties back into their work spaces. The materials available in a new 40+ page Polsinelli “COVID-19 411, Employer Playbook for Occupational Health and Business Continuity” and at Polsinelli’s COVID-19 Blog: What Your Business Needs To Know will help businesses think through state and local requirements, and health department recommendations. Polsinelli attorneys are also prepared to assist in the development or review of new forms, checklists, signage, policies, and procedures businesses must develop on their own, given this new information.
Section 1 of Polsinelli’s “Employer Playbook” provides an easy to use “Opening up America” chart for employers based on guidelines from the United States, along with a summary of orders in various states (effective as of May 1, 2020). Section 2 provides employers guidance as they plan to re-open – analyzing policies and new compliance requirements, continuing to build their pandemic response plan, and preparing to communicate how new requirements, recommendations, policies, and procedures will affect employees and others personally.
Section 3 discusses how, as employees return to work, employers should or may develop an illness detection program, including screening employees and others for symptoms, taking temperatures, and even (when appropriate) requiring testing. Section 4 describes how employers can set up and begin their Advance Contact Tracing programs even before anyone reports an infection. Section 5 provides employers with immediate steps to take when someone reports an exposure in the workplace. And, finally, a list of Do’s and Don’ts is available as a general reminder of various actions employers should or should not take.
If you would like to receive a copy of the “COVID-19 411, Employer Playbook for Occupational Health and Business Continuity”please email 411_Employer_Playbook@Polsinelli.com.
