On May 1, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published a new safety alert for restaurant and food and beverage businesses.
OSHA recommends that businesses offering takeout or curbside pickup during the COVID-19 pandemic implement the following precautions:
- Encourage workers to stay home when sick;
- Display a sign with the services available (i.e. take-out, curbside), instructions for pickup, and hours of operation;
- Train workers in proper hygiene practices and the use of workplace controls;
- Practice social distancing by maintaining six (6) feet between co-workers and customers and mark 6-foot distances with floor tape in pickup lines;
- Encourage customers to pay ahead of time by phone or online;
- Provide a place to wash hands and alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least sixty (60%) percent alcohol;
- Routinely clean and disinfect surfaces and equipment with cleaning chemicals from Environmental Protection Agency-approved List N or with label claims against the coronavirus;
- Allow workers to wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent spread of the virus;
- Temporarily move workstations to create more distance and install plexiglass partitions, if possible;
- Avoid direct hand-off, when possible;
- Reserve parking spaces near the door for curbside pickup; and
- Encourage employees to report any safety and health concerns.
OSHA issued the guidance in a one-page poster that employers can display in the workplace; the poster can be found at:
Businesses should be aware that OSHA’s guidelines are less stringent than many announced state and local mandates.
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EGS has developed a form employers can use to gather and maintain the required information. If you would like a copy of the form, have questions or would like additional information, please contact EGS’s Employment Law Practice Group Leader, Amanda M. Fugazy at
afugazy@egsllp.com
or the primary EGS attorney with whom you work.
