protective equipment

Phase 2 of New York’s reopening plan includes several categories of retail businesses. Specific retail business guidelines are available for the following industries:

Essential and In-Store Retail
Vehicle Sales, Leases, and Rentals
Retail Rental, Repair, and Cleaning

The industry-specific guidelines have been divided into five categories: Physical Distancing; Protective Equipment; Hygiene and Cleaning; Communication; and Screening. Summary Guidelines for each of the above retail industry groups include both Mandatory and Recommended Best Practices. The retail business guidelines all indicate that businesses must also follow other CDC and Department of Health recommendations that will assist in protecting employees and customers and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Physical Distancing

The retail businesses in Phase 2 have a 50% occupancy limit for each location. This restriction applies to both personnel and customers.

Six-foot social distancing markers must be posted to remind employees and customers to keep space between them. These markings are especially important in commonly used areas such as cash registers, places where employees clock in and out for their shift, in locations where health screenings will occur, break rooms, and restrooms. The use of waiting rooms is discouraged where possible, and companies should establish designated areas for pickup and delivery.

Your business can find the maximum occupancy limit by locating the certificate of occupancy for each location. If your company is leasing the property, you can contact the landlord to obtain this information. The maximum occupancy likely applies to all tenants in the building if you are operating out of a multi-unit building. You may need to consult with the building owner to determine what portion of the reduced occupancy limit applies to your business operations.

In addition to restricting workforce and customer presence to 50% of the maximum occupancy, retail businesses must consider alternative methods for reducing their workforce. Possible options may include adjusting retail hours, shifts, and schedules to reduce occupancy. You might also be able to modify the layout of the businesses. Consider one-way foot traffic with signs that provide direction to employees and businesses.

Industry-Specific Suggestions

Businesses that have fitting rooms must equip them with appropriate cleaning/hygiene supplies for both employees and customers to use. Retail businesses that can do so should continue offering curbside pickup with reserved parking.

All customers entering retail stores must wear face coverings unless they are under two years old or have a medical condition that restricts their ability to wear them.

Employers must provide face coverings to all employees at no cost and clean or replace them when necessary. Employers are also responsible for adequately training employees on how to use face coverings properly while at work. However, employees may wear their own face coverings. Employees must wear face coverings whenever they come within 6 feet of a coworker or customer.

Businesses should eliminate the sharing of objects or equipment. Where that is not possible, they must supply employees with rubber gloves to prevent the transmission of the virus.

Industry-Specific Suggestions

In addition to requiring all employees in retail establishments to wear face coverings, employers must implement physical barriers at cash registers, such as plastic shield walls where doing so would not impact airflow, heating, cooling, or ventilation.

In retail businesses where travel and interaction with customers are frequent (e.g., home appliance repairs, in-home house cleaning services), employees must wear face coverings when within 6 feet of a customer. Cleaning services should provide and require all employees to wear disposable gloves when performing work. Travel within shared vehicles should be limited to only essential circumstances.

Hygiene and Cleaning

Retail businesses must adhere to hygiene and sanitation requirements set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health (DOH). These guidelines include providing and maintaining proper hand hygiene stations throughout the building.

Businesses must arrange for frequent cleaning at least after every shift, daily, or more frequently. Companies should pay particular attention to shared objects and surfaces and high traffic areas. This cleaning and disinfecting should be performed using the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) products that are recommended for COVID-19. Employees must also be provided with the supplies to clean and disinfect commonly used areas, shared equipment, and worksites before and after each use.

Businesses must perform a deep cleaning and sanitation as frequently as possible. This requirement may require companies to engage the services of a third party specializing in cleaning and disinfecting buildings.

Where possible, companies should increase the circulation of outdoor air while maintaining safety precautions.

Industry-Specific Suggestions

Retail businesses that are responsible for handling food products must provide and require employees to wear disposable gloves any time they are handling food. Companies accepting returned merchandise must have a plan for the receipt, cleaning, and resale of the item to ensure the health and safety of employees and customers.

Retail rental, repair, and cleaning companies that provide equipment or goods for rent or that provide repair services must clean and disinfect equipment or goods before pickup by customers and after the items are dropped off or returned to their location. Companies or individuals that provide residential or commercial cleaning services must sanitize all equipment before and after each use.

Any businesses that provide laundry services such as a laundromat or dry cleaner should follow the guidelines released by the CDC. Examples include laundering at the warmest appropriate water setting, drying everything completely, and never shaking dirty laundry. Each customer’s laundry should be handled separately and never combined. As with everything else, these businesses should clean and disinfect any equipment used during the service after each use.

Communication

Once the company has had an opportunity to read and digest the guidelines, it must determine to implement them in the workplace. They must develop a safety plan. New York State has created a safety plan template to use as a starting point. However, each business should have a plan that is consistent with their business and facilities.

Employers may include additional policies and procedures that will assist with slowing down or eliminating the transition of the virus. Once that is complete, the company must submit an affirmation confirming that they have read, understood, and intend to implement the guidelines.

All employees should be trained on the new protocols and educated on the importance of cleaning and sanitation, as well as the need to respect social distancing guidelines and wear face coverings, when appropriate.

Signs will need to be posted inside and outside of the retail locations to act as a constant reminder to customers and staff of the importance of proper hygiene, social distancing, appropriate use of PPE, and the mandatory cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

Many of the recommended signs can be found on the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention website, located here. It contains printable posters for businesses to utilize related to the following:

How to protect yourself and others in public settings;
The importance of wearing face coverings;
How to safely wear cloth face coverings;
Symptoms of COVID-19 that individuals should look out for;
How to stop the spread of germs;
Facts about COVID-19; and
Hand washing.

Screening & Tracking

Businesses must implement mandatory health screening assessments for all employees and visitors to the worksite. This screening should include questions about symptoms and an individual’s contact with COVID-19 patients. It can also include temperature checking, testing, and the collection of contact information. Companies cannot force companies to participate in health screening. But businesses are encouraged to attempt to collect this information if possible. Remote screening before a person comes on-premises is ideal, if possible.

Employees who have COVID-19 symptoms and either tested positive for the virus or did not receive a test must remain home for a minimum of 14 days. An employee who does not have symptoms, but tested positive for the virus must self-quarantine for 14 days. If an employee had close contact with a person with COVID-19 for a prolonged period of time and is symptomatic, they must remain in quarantine for 14 days. An employee who had contact with an individual with COVID-19, but is not symptomatic, should also stay in self-quarantine for 14 days.

Upon reopening, employers are required to keep a daily continuous log of all employees and visitors that enter the worksite. Where possible, companies should try to collect customer information as well. The log should consist of contact information for anyone who had close contact with workers, unless appropriate PPE is being utilized. It is recommended that businesses attempt to collect contact information for customers, but it cannot be mandated. Contact information should be collected, to the extent possible, so proper contact tracing can occur. A communication plan must be established to determine who will be given responsibilities for tracking visitors, collecting contact information, conducting the mandatory health screening, and how positive cases or contacts should be reported to management and the state and local health departments.

What Should New York Retail Businesses Do Next?

If you fall into one of these Phase 2 retail categories, you must review the industry-specific guidelines and affirm that you have read, understood, and intend to implement them before reopening. You must draft and post a safety plan and post appropriate signage. You also need a strategy to perform health screenings and assist in contact tracing when required.

Retail businesses must designate a safety monitor that is responsible for ensuring compliance with the company’s safety plan. Employers have to train individuals who will be responsible for conducting the health screening, collecting contact information, performing contact tracing, and notifying the state and local health department of positive tests.

The company must also develop a plan for cleaning, disinfecting, and performing contact tracing if a positive case occurs. Minimum measures should include cleaning and disinfecting all heavy-transit areas and high-touch surfaces.

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