Under Governor Lee’s overarching reopening plan, the “Tennessee Pledge,” businesses are provided safeguarding protocols, based largely on recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The plan, while not mandatory, is strongly encouraged for all Tennessee employers, employees and customers, and Gov. Lee has asked all Tennesseans to work together to successfully and safely reopen the state’s economy. During this phased reopening, the Governor’s Executive Orders make clear that if a business or industry does not operate in a safe manner or if there are adverse outcomes in a particular business or industry, additional safety orders will follow.

To this end, the plan instructs all businesses to screen employees reporting to work for COVID-19 symptoms. Employers are directed to ask all employees about whether they are experiencing symptoms and calls for temperature screening of employees. Employees who exhibit symptoms should be directed to leave the premises and to seek medical care. All employers are also to implement workplace cleaning and disinfection practices, mitigate exposure in the workplace by implementing social distancing guidelines, allow for telework and work-from-home if feasible, and to post extensive signage on new health policies and COVID-19. Employees are directed to stay at home when ill, wear cloth face coverings while at work, abide by social distancing policies and employer sanitation directives, and to increase their personal hygiene practices.

The plan also provides industry-specific guidance for restaurants, retailers and exercise facilities.

• Restaurants are directed to strictly adhere to CDC guidelines, as well as to follow additional safeguarding measures. These measures include additional employee and consumer protections, including providing ServSafe COVID-19 training for all employees, limiting the number of customers in the restaurant to 50% seating capacity, spacing tables six feet apart, limiting tables to no more than six guests per table, keeping bar areas closed, not having live music, and screening customers for illness upon entry. Restaurants are also directed to place hand sanitizer stations in the restaurant lobby, bathrooms, and cashier stations, sanitize all front-of-house contact surface areas, use disposable menus or sanitize menus between each use, sanitize chairs, tabletops, and tabletop items after each user, and are directed not to use self-serve buffets, beverage re-use stations, or condiments that could be used by multiple tables.
• Retail Businesses are directed that staff should wear face coverings, be provided training on personal protective equipment based on CDC guidelines, provide sanitizing stations, stagger shifts and breaks to maintain social distancing, provide regular updates and training for employees about COVID-19 mitigation and store safeguards. Stores are instructed to limit the number of customers inside a store to 50% or less of the occupancy limit, establish one-way aisles and customer traffic patterns, increase curbside pickup options, and assign dedicated staff to prompt customers to follow social distancing procedures. Retail businesses should also establish enhanced cleaning protocols, use separate designated entrances and exits, use plastic shields or barriers between customers and clerks at service counters, prohibit use of reusable bags, and suspend sampling of food and hygiene products.
• Exercise Facilities are directed to conduct employee screenings and temperature checks, staff should be directed to wear face coverings, provide sanitizing stations, practice social distancing to the greatest extent possible, and prohibit congregating in break rooms or other common areas. Additionally, exercise facilities should screen customers for illnesses, keep doors and windows open where possible to increase ventilation, and conduct regular disinfecting of high-touch surfaces. Customers should be required to clean all equipment they come in contact with after each use, and should be encouraged to only use one piece of equipment at a time. Facilities are instructed to close showers, locker rooms, swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, basketball courts, racquetball courts and other areas where close congregating and team sports may occur. All equipment should be spaced at least six feet apart, and no shared equipment should be permitted. Additionally, exercise facilities should consider limiting workout lengths to decrease congestion and allow for additional sanitation procedures.

Following this guidance, Gov. Lee issued two executive orders pertaining to the initial stages of the reopening plan. Executive Order 29 allows restaurants to reopen for on-site dining as of April 27, 2020. Restaurants are “expected to operate in accordance with, and to fulfill the spirit of, applicable operation guidance and measures adopted and/or issued” by the Tennessee Pledge. The Executive Order permits the health departments in Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Shelby and Sullivan counties to restrict restaurant operations within their counties.

Executive Order 30 allows for general return to work starting on April 29, 2020. The order strongly encourages and expects businesses to follow all applicable health guidelines adopted by the Governor’s Economic Recovery Group (ERG) which provides general and industry specific guidelines. While many businesses are permitted to reopen, business that perform “close-contact personal services” such as barber shops, hair salons, spas as well as entertainment, recreational, and gathering venues will remain closed. Further, under Executive Order 30, employers may not require or even allow employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 to work, until the employee has satisfied the requirements of the CDC guidelines.

As states begin easing restrictions, businesses will continue to face challenges about how to best reopen. Foreseeing these issues, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has provided additional information practical issues that employers and employees will face, addressing concerns of medical examinations, confidentiality of medical information, reasonable accommodations, and the interplay of new public health guidelines and workplace discrimination laws. Additionally, as in Tennessee, the CDC interim guidance for essential employees will likely continue to be incorporated into state and local guidance for all employees. Businesses will need to adopt new policies and procedures to protect employees and customers from the spread of the coronavirus, some of which may come at employers’ expense.

Beyond employment procedures, businesses should anticipate widespread impacts from COVID-19during the reopening stages. These changes may range from requiring new provisions when entering into business contracts and reassessing real estate holdings, to updating data privacy policies. Further, businesses should prepare for the possibility of additional stay-at-home orders, which may become necessary as social distancing policies are relaxed. Given the ever-evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding regulatory responses, employers should be developing plans for business decisions and contingency plans during the reopening stages.