Tag: screening

June 18, 2020

Reopening New York, Part II (Webinar Recap)

On June 18, 2020, I presented a complimentary webinar called “Reopening New York, Part II”. For those who couldn’t attend the live webinar, we’re happy to make it available for you to watch at your convenience.

In the webinar, we discuss:

Industry-Specific Reopening Guidelines
Employee COVID-19 Screening
Mandatory Safety Plans
Recent Updates and Planning Ahead

Most of New York has reached Phase 3 of its 4-phased business reopening plan. New York City lags behind the rest of the State. In addition to the identified phases, New York has issued statewide guidelines for some activities.

The State’s industry-specific guidelines have been revised even for businesses eligible to open in earlier phases. Companies and other organizations must continue to monitor the requirements and make adjustments to their operations. If they don’t, there could be severe consequences, including having their business shut down.

Don’t have time to watch the whole webinar right now? Click here to download the slides from the webinar.

Why You Should Watch “Reopening New York, Part II”

Even if you watched our first webinar in this series, there have been important updates since then. We address many of those in this webinar.

Make sure you’re aware of the latest guidance for your organization. For example, the list of COVID-19 symptoms has expanded. The rules for how to handle positive answers to your daily screening questionnaire have changed. You must have a “central point of contact” to oversee those questionnaires. And, you can’t require employees to submit coronavirus antibody results.

Plus, find out if you have all the necessary signs up in your building or worksite!

Whether your company has reopened or not, and regardless of what phase your industry is in, all New York businesses and organizations should be aware of the State’s reopening guidelines and the related information presented in this webinar.

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June 14, 2020

New York Phase 2: Reopening Offices

Phase 2 of New York’s reopening plan includes separate guidelines for offices and commercial building management. Where different entities own and operate portions of a commercial building, multiple parties have obligations related to keeping people safe within the building.

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

Office-Based Work

Companies whose core functions are performed in an office environment may reopen in Phase 2. But to do so, they must implement the mandatory requirements outlined in the NYS guidelines. These include businesses previously operating as essential businesses that fall into the office-based work category.

Office-based work typically includes these categories, as well as an office location that performs similar functions for a company even if it falls into another industry category:

Professional Services
Non-Profit
Technology
Administrative Support
Higher Education Administration (excluding full campus reopening)

NYS Summary Guidelines

NYS Detailed Guidelines

Commercial Building Management

This category covers all commercial and non-residential buildings in regions that have been permitted to reopen offices, including those that were previously operating as essential businesses. Since most commercial buildings have other industries operating within them, the guidelines for this business sector add to the requirements placed on a physical location overall. Thus, where one party owns the building and another or multiple others operate within it, several businesses may need to work together to satisfy the combined requirements for reopening offices.

NYS Summary Guidelines

NYS Detailed Guidelines

Physical Distancing Requirements

The mandatory health and safety guidelines address the physical distancing requirements for commercial building management and locations performing office-based work. Offices are restricted to no more than 50% of the maximum occupancy for the location, as set forth by the certificate of occupancy.

Individuals must stay at least 6 feet from each other at all times unless the core activity requires a shorter distance. If people must come within 6 feet of each other, they must wear proper face coverings.

Social distancing markers must be posted in all commonly used and other areas within the office where individuals may gather (e.g., health screening stations, clock-in/clock-out stations, or restrooms located within the office). Commercial Building Managers will be responsible for posting social distancing markers in any common areas throughout the building (e.g., restroom, elevator, lobby, health screening stations).

The use of confined spaces should be restricted to only one person at a time, unless all individuals are wearing proper face coverings. Even when utilizing suitable face coverings, no more than 50% of maximum occupancy will be permitted (e.g., elevators, restrooms). All non-essential common areas in the building and individual offices should be closed.

In-person gatherings must be limited to the extent possible. The guidelines encourage the use of tele- or videoconferencing. Shared workspaces should be eliminated or reduced to the extent possible. At a minimum, shared workspaces must be cleaned and disinfected between each use.

Employers in office-based environments should take advantage of alternate means to reduce interpersonal contact and congregations. Possibilities include adjusting workplace hours, only requiring essential staff to report to the office, modifications to employee shifts and office design, or changes to arrival and departure times.

Additional Physical Distance Requirements

Commercial building managers have some additional responsibilities. They must educate tenants on maximum occupancy limits for all rented or leased space and monitor compliance with the restrictions. They must inform tenants of social distancing requirements and of the need for wearing proper face coverings whenever a 6-foot distance from other individuals is not feasible. Depending on the terms of the lease agreement, building managers might be responsible for making physical altercations to the office space to allow for compliance with these requirements.

Protective Equipment Guidelines

Commercial building managers and employers overseeing locations with office-based work must provide employees with acceptable face coverings. They must provide masks at no cost to the employee and ensure that there is an adequate supply. They must educate employees on how to correctly put on, take off, and discard the face coverings.

Workers should avoid the sharing of objects, equipment, or workspaces whenever possible. These include items such as tools, laptops, touchscreens, printers, and writing utensils. Employers can either require workers that share objects and equipment to wear disposable gloves, provided at no cost by the employer, or clean and disinfect shared equipment between each use and provide employees with proper hand hygiene stations.

Additional Physical Equipment Guidelines

Commercial building managers will likely need to install physical barriers in any location where employees interact with the public, such as reception and security desks. OSHA recommends this measure.

Hygiene and Cleaning Guidelines

Commercial building managers and companies performing office-based work must adhere to the hygiene and sanitation requirements set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health (DOH). These protocols include providing and maintaining proper hand hygiene stations throughout the building. Hand hygiene stations include soap, running water, and disposable paper towels, as well as an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing 60% or more alcohol for areas where handwashing is not feasible.

Offices must be adequately cleaned and disinfected using registered disinfectants, at least as often as employees and contractors change work stations. Commonly used or high-risk areas should be cleaned and disinfected even more frequently. Employers are responsible for conducting rigorous cleaning and disinfection at least after each shift, daily or more often.

Companies must establish procedures to follow for confirmed COVID-19 cases. These should cover the cleaning and disinfecting of the individual’s worksite and the surrounding area, all heavy transit areas, and high-touch areas (e.g., such as elevators, lobbies, building entrances, badge screeners, restroom handrails, and door handles).

Commercial building managers and tenants should refer to the terms of their lease for guidance on which party is responsible for complying with these requirements for reopening offices.

Communication Guidelines

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.

Companies must train employees on the new protocols and educate them on the importance of cleaning and sanitation, as well as the need to respect social distancing guidelines and wear face coverings when appropriate.

Offices must have signs inside and outside of the building to remind staff and visitors 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 reopening offices must implement mandatory health screening assessments for all employees and visitors. 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. Remote screening before a person comes on-premises is ideal, if possible.

Those businesses located in a shared commercial building should coordinate with the building manager to help facilitate those screenings upon reopening offices. Some building managers could decide to organize mandatory health screenings for any individual that enters their building each day. By screening employees and visitors when they first enter the building, it would reduce potential exposure of an individual that was symptomatic or COVID-19 positive from interacting with others in the building’s common areas.

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 must keep a daily continuous log of all employees and visitors that enter the worksite. The log should consist of contact information for anyone who had close contact with workers without using appropriate PPE. Businesses should attempt to collect contact information for customers, but they cannot mandate customers to provide it. Contact information will help facilitate proper contact tracing when necessary.

Next Steps for Reopening Offices

If you fall into one of these Phase 2 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.

Employers in shared commercial buildings should coordinate with building management. Individual companies may not have sufficient control over the premises to meet all State guidelines alone. Regardless, each business must designate a safety monitor that is responsible for ensuring compliance with the company’s safety plan. Employers must 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.

Each company reopening offices 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.

For our latest information on reopening your workplace and other issues of importance to New York employers, subscribe to our newsletter and follow Horton Law on LinkedIn.

May 31, 2020

A Closer Look at the COVID-19 New York Safety Plan Template

As the State of New York begins to reopen, it is requiring all businesses to develop a written COVID-19 safety plan. The State has provided a safety plan template to facilitate this requirement. Businesses don’t have to use the template. But they should at least reference it in ensuring they include the necessary components in their plans.

Reopening Requires a Written Safety Plan

Each New York business location must adopt and follow a safety plan that outlines how the business will fight the spread of COVID-19. Companies don’t have to submit their plans to any government agency for approval. But every business must post its plan at each location. The New York State Department of Health or local health or safety authorities have the right to review the plan during an inspection.

New York is issuing industry-specific reopening guidelines. These documents reflect extensive requirements on businesses that choose to reopen as permitted under the State’s phased reopening plan. Every business should consult the guidelines in preparing a coronavirus safety plan.

For more information about industry-specific reopening guidelines, click here.

Essential businesses that are not yet covered by industry-specific guidelines, click here.

To access the NY Forward Safety Plan Template, click here.

The New York Forward Safety Plan Template

The New York Safety Plan Template is a generic template that any business can complete. Alternatively, a company could use the template as a guide to creating its plan in a different format.

Part I – People

The first part of the templates starts with a list of physical distancing terms that employees must comply with. The business must agree to the following:

Ensuring a 6-foot distance between personnel, unless safety or a core function of the work activity requires a shorter distance.
If personnel are less than 6 feet apart from one another, they must wear acceptable face coverings.
Only one individual will occupy small spaces at a time unless all occupants are wearing acceptable face coverings.
The occupancy will be kept under 50% of the maximum capacity if more than one individual occupies the small spaces.
Social distancing posts/markers must be made to signify 6 feet of spacing in commonly used areas on the site.
In-person gatherings must be limited as much as possible, and tele- or video-conferencing should be utilized whenever possible.
Essential in-person gatherings should be held in open, well-ventilated spaces with appropriate social distancing among participants.
There should be designated areas for pick-ups and deliveries.

Then, Part I asks the business to fill in specific information pertinent to its daily operations.

The template asks the business to list everyday situations that may not allow for 6 feet of distance between individuals and how the business intends to ensure employee safety in such circumstances.
It also asks how the business will achieve engagement with customers and visitors with physical distancing requirements.
Part 1 concludes by asking the business how it will manage industry-specific physical, social distancing.

Part II – Places

The second part of the safety plan template has three sections: “Protective Equipment,” “Hygiene and Cleaning,” and “Communication.” The portion of the template requires the business to explain how it intends to keep the workplace clean to protect employees.

Protective Equipment

Part II.A. of the New York safety plan template requires businesses to ensure that employees comply with protective equipment requirements. The business must agree to the following terms:

Employers must provide employees with an acceptable face covering at no cost to the employee and have an adequate supply of coverings in case of replacement.

After acknowledging the above, the business must indicate how it plans to comply with the requirement.

Face coverings must be cleaned or replaced after use or when damaged or soiled, may not be shared, and should be adequately stored or discarded.

The business must then explain its policy for ensuring that the PPE is appropriately cleaned, stored, and discarded.

Limit the sharing of objects and discourage touching of shared surfaces; or, when in contact with shared objects or frequently touched areas occurs, wear gloves(trade-appropriate or medical); or sanitize or wash hands before and after contact.

After this item, the business must list common objects shared between the employees and how it plans to ensure the safety of the employees when using the commonly shared objects.

Hygiene and Cleaning

Part II.B. of the template requires businesses to comply with hygiene and cleaning requirements. The business must agree to the following terms:

Adhere to hygiene and sanitation requirements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health (DOH) and maintain logs on site that document date, time, and scope of cleaning.

After this term, there is space to identify who will maintain the cleaning log and where they will keep it.

Provide and maintain hand hygiene stations for personnel, including handwashing with soap, water, and paper towels, or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing 60% or more alcohol for areas where handwashing is not feasible.

Then the business must indicate where on site the appropriate sanitizing products will be located, and how it will promote hand hygiene.

Conduct regular cleaning and disinfection at least after every shift, daily, or more frequently as needed, and frequent cleaning and disinfection of shared objects (e.g., tools, machinery) and surfaces, as well as high transit areas, such as restrooms and common areas, must be completed.

Then the business must describe its policies that will ensure that regular cleaning and disinfecting are occurring on the worksite.

Communication

Part II.C. of the template prompts businesses to comply with communication requirements. The business must agree to:

Post signage throughout the site to remind personnel to adhere to proper hygiene, social distancing rules, appropriate use of PPE, and cleaning and disinfecting protocols.
Establish a communication plan for employees, visitors, and customers with a consistent means to provide updated information.
Maintain a continuous log of every person, including workers and visitors, who may have close contact with other individuals at the worksite; excluding deliveries that are performed with appropriate PPE or through contactless means; excluding customers, who may be encouraged to provide contact information to be logged but are not mandated to do so.

After these items, the safety plan template asks the business to identify the employee(s) that will be in charge of maintaining the log and where it will be located.

This part of the safety plan template concludes by explaining the appropriate protocol that employers must agree to follow when an employee tests positive for COVID-19. Specifically, they must “immediately notify state and local health departments and cooperate with tracing efforts . . . while maintaining confidentiality.” The company must indicate which employee(s) will be responsible for notifying state and local health departments if an employee tests positive for COVID-19.

Part III – Process

Part III of the safety plan template has two sections: “Screening” and “Contact Tracing and Disinfection of Contaminated Areas.”

Screening

Part III.A. of the template addresses mandatory health screenings. Businesses must implement mandatory health screening assessments before employees begin working each day. They must ask workers and essential visitors whether they have experienced:

COVID-19 Symptoms in the 14 days,
a positive COVID-19 test in the past 14 days, and/or
close contact with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days.

The business must document these responses and review them daily.

The safety plan template requires the business to explain its daily health and screening practices. This information should include who will perform the screening practices, how the individuals will be trained, and the necessary PPE equipment the individuals will require.

Contact Tracing and Disinfection of Contaminated Areas

Part III.B. of the template requires businesses to ensure that its employees comply with contact tracing and disinfection requirements. Each business must “Have a plan for cleaning, disinfection, and contact tracing in the event of a positive case.”

Then the template requires the business to describe how it will clean the contaminated areas if an employee tests positive for COVID-19. It must identify which effective COVID-19 products the business needs and how the business plans to acquire them. The company must also identify how it will trace and inform close contacts if an employee tests positive for COVID-19.

Part IV – Other

Part IV of the New York Safety Plan template simply provides space for the business to provide additional information about its specific COVID-19 safety plan. Companies should review applicable industry-specific guidelines to determine what other obligations they must satisfy.

This portion of the template ends by requiring the business to agree that it will stay up to date on industry-specific guidance, by consulting the NY Forward website.

The .pdf version of the NY Forward Safety Plan Template includes links to other government websites providing general information, workplace guidance, personal protective equipment guidance, and cleaning and disinfecting guidance.

What Your Business Should Do Now

If your business is operating now with any on-premises employees, it must have a COVID-19 safety plan in place. You can use the New York safety plan template document or come up with a different format. However, your plan must address the necessary components reflected in state and federal guidelines for reducing the transmission of the novel coronavirus. And you must continue to monitor developments from various governmental authorities to ensure ongoing compliance.

Horton Law continues to monitor the evolving reopening requirements for all New York businesses. Sign up for our email newsletter to receive our latest blog posts and announcements of upcoming webinars on this topic. You can also follow us on LinkedIn for even more frequent updates.