On April 26, Gov. Polis issued EO D 2020 044, Safer at Home, which was accompanied by Executive Director Ryan’s Public Health Order 20-28, Safer at Home. The public perception is that these orders have relaxed the restrictions previously imposed by the Stay at Home Order. While this is true to some extent, the new Safer at Home Order has added some requirements for Critical Businesses to continue to operate, while broader groups of people are integrated back into their workspaces. Many of the new requirements are consistent with the best practice recommendations we made in prior posts, but now these are the law. The new requirements are:
- You must deputize a workplace coordinator to address COVID-19 issues.
- You must have signage for employees (and customers) on good hygiene. We recommend this sign include visual aids and that it is available in English and any other languages your employees and site workers may speak.
- Implement symptom monitoring protocols, conduct daily temperature checks, and monitor symptoms in employees. CDPHE has provided a sample Employee Health Screening Form and symptom monitoring site.
- If you send an employee home, you have to increase cleaning in your facility and require social distancing at least 6 feet apart. CDPHE has issued Cleaning Guidance for COVID-19.
- You have to encourage and enable remote work whenever possible.
- You have to encourage breaks to wash hands or use hand sanitizer.
- You have to provide appropriate protective gear like gloves, masks, and face coverings.
- Employers with over 50 employees in one location have to:
- Implement stations for symptom screening and temperature checks.
- Close common areas to disallow gatherings of employees.
- Implement mandatory cleaning and disinfection protocols.
- Require mandatory adherence to Social Distancing Requirements. This removes the exception for if Social Distancing is impossible in order to complete the necessary activity. The exception still exists if you are under 50 people in one location.
- You must provide reasonable work accommodations for Vulnerable Individuals, and you cannot compel Vulnerable Individuals to work. A Vulnerable Individual is anyone who:
- is 65 years or older;
- has chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma;
- has a serious heart condition;
- is immunocompromised;
- is a pregnant woman; or
- is determined to be high risk by a licensed healthcare provider.
For compliance purposes, it is critical that you maintain your own log on steps you have taken to comply with this and other orders. Different cities and counties may adopt stricter protocols for businesses.
At Moye White, we are committed to helping you stay in compliance and navigate other issues that may arise – COVID-19 related or not. Please contact Dan Wennogle to discuss your particular case.
This article was co-authored by Bobby Dishell, Law Student Intern at Moye White.