What Are Companies’ Legal Obligations Around Coronavirus?
Ryan Schwartz
admin
I read this interesting article last week by Harvard Business Review regarding what a company’s legal responsibility is around Coronavirus. It speaks about methods for staying informed, how to increase communications with employees and providing guidance, what to do if an employee shows symptoms, and requirements around duty of care.
Worth a read for employees and companies alike.
https://hbr.org/2020/03/what-are-companies-legal-obligations-around-coronavirus
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Comments
There are some good points in this article including some things I never thought about like in the UK we have a legal duty to our employees on any psychological stress-related health issues that could arise.
There is also a section around intensifying communications. I think we all know to communicate to our employees and customers. I’ve received so many emails as a customer (and an employee) but a lot of them are generic. “Wash your hands… we are monitoring the situation” etc. etc. Today, I got an email from Wynn Hotel out in Vegas. We need to hire whoever put that messaging together because they were so specific, and thus left me reassured. Here are some excerpts:
“What we are doing differently:
Hand sanitizers are located throughout the public areas and back of house locations. Sanitizers are refilled and checked regularly.
All employees are instructed each day on correct hand sanitizing procedures.
Table gaming employees are instructed to wash their hands after every break and before returning to a game.”
I love their transparency and I think knowing some of the actual, appropriate details of what’s going on behind the scenes will help to reassure all of the audiences that we communicate to.
Specific communication is key. I recently traveled with United out of the country this past weekend. They sent a stream of specific updates, from plane cleanliness, actions they were taking, what to expect when arriving back to the US etc.
This one in particular was helpful:
"Our team of in-house medical experts and industrial hygienists oversee our aircraft cleaning procedures to ensure they meet or exceed all CDC guidelines. Hard surfaces such as lavatories, tray tables, window shades and armrests are thoroughly wiped down with a high-grade disinfectant and multi-purpose cleaner. And when we are advised by the CDC of a person who has traveled on board and is potentially exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, that aircraft is taken out of service and sent through a full decontamination process that includes our standard cleaning procedures plus washing ceilings and overhead bins and scrubbing the interior."
I am especially impressed with companies going above and beyond for employees who are dependent on hourly pay, like Mark Cuban and the Mavericks: https://www.insider.com/mark-cuban-mavericks-hourly-workers-coronavirus-stoppage-2020-3
It's nice to see the people who are coming together and stepping up to help others through this period uncertainty.