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Client Alert
May 6, 2020

OSHA Guidance for Bars and Restaurants  
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.    
This memorandum is published solely for the informational interest of friends and clients of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP and should in no way be relied upon or construed as legal advice.