Donkey Taqueria in Grand Rapids has thrown out a lot of food.
After an employee tested positive for coronavirus on April 28, the restaurant shut down for about a week as the owners got rid of all the food, did an electrostatic clean of the entire restaurant, contacted all the vendors to tell them of the positive test, and did another top down cleaning.
It was above and beyond what is required in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders when a businesses’ employee tests positive.
They also did something that hasn’t been required of businesses - they told the public.
Paul Lee, co-owner of Donkey, said they thought honesty was the best policy.
“We want to be 100-percent transparent with, not only with our customers but also with our staff,” he said.
“This is a very, I guess, kind of stressful time. There’s a lot of anxiety and if we can be completely honest with customers that come in and also people that are coming to work for us then I think that’s the absolute best policy to have.”
There have been multiple executive orders issued by Whitmer that include rules for businesses to follow during the coronavirus pandemic. Those include requiring customers and employees wear masks at all times except for specific circumstances, like while a customer is seated at a restaurant, and requiring restaurants to operate at 50% capacity.
Then there are executive orders addressing what businesses have to do if an employee tests positive. No where in the executive orders does it require the businesses to alert the public that one of their employees tested positive - no matter when they were last working. And the decision to be open about whether or not an establishment has had a case, is left for employers to weigh.
Whitmer’s executive orders, as of June 4, require businesses which have employees coming in for in-person work develop a “preparedness and response plan” and make the plan available to employees, labor unions and customers. The plan has to follow guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), however, OSHA guidance are mainly tailored toward prevention of the disease and encouraging flexibility and understanding if an employee is sick.
Businesses also have to provide COVID-19 training to employees that includes reporting unsafe working conditions and the proper use of personal protection equipment, conduct daily screening protocols for employees, provide masks and require face coverings be worn, and increase facility cleaning, among other things.
But these measures are largely preventative. And while employers can be as safe as possible, there’s still a chance an employee will test positive.
When there is a positive test, businesses are required to contact their local health department which will follow up with the employee to conduct contact tracing. The business must also notify fellow employees of their potential exposure, but without revealing the identity of the infected person.
Businesses must also “Establish a response plan for dealing with a confirmed infection in the workplace, including protocols for sending employees home and for temporary closures of all or part of the workplace to allow for deep cleaning,” the order states.
“Does that seem like the most nonsensical and way too lax system that’s ever been created? Because it does to me,” said Lucas Grill, proprietor of 1983 Restaurants, which has four eateries in Holland. He’s frustrated by the lack of cleaning requirements and transparency, among other things.
Grill said a shutdown could only be an hour to clean, and that allows for restaurants and other businesses to be even less transparent with the public if an employee tests positive.
“So let’s say for example you’re open for lunch,” he said. “Well then you can just say we’re not open for lunch today. Well, you were ordered to shut down, but you would satisfy the requirement of the health department and then you could re-open.”
For retailers, there’s less of a concern about employees testing positive for coronavirus, because there haven’t been as many outbreaks or issues, said Amy Drumm, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Michigan Retailers Association. But the organization is still encouraging its members to be transparent, though it doesn’t want to tell people what to do.
“It depends on the kind of business, the type of retailer, and how that may be perceived. We don’t want anybody to cause panic,” Drumm said.
Early on, panic may have been the immediate response to a business saying an employee tested positive, Drumm said.
But transparency can have a different impact on customers - it could show customers that the business is working to keep them safe.
Drumm explained, “We suggest that they weigh those benefits of, ‘Do I want to be more transparent and make sure people feel safe by knowing all of the things that we’re doing and having go on? Or would that cause more panic or concern than is necessary and we’re doing the right steps so it shouldn’t be something that we want to leak or have people asking more questions about.‘”
Some restaurants feel that openness is the best policy, and a way to ensure the public trust the industry during this time. In early July, a group of Grand Rapids restaurant owners developed the MI Restaurant Promise.
“Different restaurant owner, operators, thought it would be helpful to the public to have a list of places that they know they can go to that are following the [governor’s] mandates,” said Kris Spaulding, co-owner of Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids.
The promise has quickly spread to 338 establishments across Michigan, including 9 in the Upper Peninsula.
The 338 restaurants that signed on to the pledge agree to meet or exceed the requirements of state executive orders, including daily wellness checks that include taking temperatures, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, asking staff to remain safe outside of work, and be transparent with customers when there is a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Spaulding said being upfront with customers was an important part of the promise in order to bring certainty to customers and put the power in the hands of restaurants instead of the rumor mill.
“Not being open about it allows for a lot more grey and people can assume things that aren’t true in that regard,” she said.
But being transparent can be a double-edged sword, Spaulding said.
“Being open and honest opens you up to public criticism and commentary and all of that, but I can see why people would choose not to,” he said. “It’s not being dishonest. That’s a tough one.”
Paul Lee owns several restaurants in the Grand Rapids area, two of which have had employees test positive. He posts on social media every time an employee tests positive, even when they haven’t worked at a restaurant in over a week.
“The first time we posted that, we were really debating, ‘Oh my gosh how much information are we supposed to share?' And it came back to, if we’re just completely honest, honesty is always going to be the best policy.”
The response from the public was overwhelmingly positive, Lee said.
“I think it’s evident that the people want to see honesty,” he said.
Lee said initially he wondered how his restaurant seemed to be the only one with employees testing positive, but looking back he believes other establishments weren’t being as open at the time. But now, as the pandemic continues on, Lee said employees testing positive will likely become a common occurrence.
“I’m afraid we’re going to get to a point where it’s not really news anymore,” Lee said of businesses announcing positive cases.
“And it’s almost getting to that point. No one is as shocked as they were the first time it happened. And I think part of that is not because you’re getting more instances of it, but I think now people are actually being honest about it.”
MORE FROM MLIVE:
City manager’s purchase of $195K in gift cards as coronavirus relief under review
Michigan residents report getting unsolicited seeds from China
Michigan hospital chosen as trial site for coronavirus vaccine, and it’s looking for volunteers
"employee" - Google News
July 29, 2020 at 10:34PM
https://ift.tt/2D2wl6X
When an employee tests positive for coronavirus, Michigan businesses have to weigh the pros and cons of trans - mlive.com
"employee" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3c4ygEc
https://ift.tt/2W5rCYQ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "When an employee tests positive for coronavirus, Michigan businesses have to weigh the pros and cons of trans - mlive.com"
Post a Comment