Businesses are reopening all over the nation with both employers and employees eager to get back to work after the pandemic shutdown. However, there are many questions about how to navigate this changed workplace safely. Business Insurance magazine interviewed our managing partner, Jeffrey Adelson for their feature article, “Many Businesses Face Testing Times as Employees Head Back to the Workplace.”
Note: If you don’t have access to the magazine, you can see the full special report article, written by Angela Childers, here.
The workplace has changed dramatically in a few short months and most businesses are requiring some or all of the following from their employees, contractors, patrons, and vendors as we all continue to battle the spread of COVID-19:
- Completing a health-assessment
- A no-touch temperature reading
- Face coverings
- Increased hygiene protocol
- Discussions about social distancing
- Some sort of re-education about “the new normal”
Every employer should ask themselves this question: Is my business complying with the requirements of the reopening order?
Jeff also advised the following:
Employers should talk with their third-party administrator or investigators to find out what guidance they have for policyholders and how to handle claims of COVID-19 infections by employees.
“If someone comes to you and says, ‘I have the virus,’ seek guidance from the workers comp carrier — don’t hide it. Putting your head in the sand is not going to help.
“Employers who fail to put into place policies to protect workers could be opening themselves up to serious and willful misconduct claims, regardless of whether the worker files a comp claim. As long as you follow the law, the likeliness of getting a serious and willful claim is remote.”
Click here for more information about Jeff Adelson.
