Columbus Partner Provides Insights for Reopening Businesses in Wake of COVID-19

In a feature interview for the WealthAbility podcast, partner Bob Robenalt provides tips for employers on the process of reopening their businesses in the wake of COVID-19. Throughout the interview, Bob discusses the legal risks that employers are facing as they start to reopen and he provides insights into how companies can assess and handle these risks as they come about.

The first thing that he recommends is that employers look to CDC and OSHA guidelines as well as any state and local re-opening guidelines. He then goes on to give other tips for employers in the reopening process, which include: continue to allow for telework, bring people back in phases (and not all at once!), advise employees to report any COVID-like symptoms as soon as possible, routinely check employee temperatures, implement social distancing measures wherever possible, and encourage the use of masks and other types of PPE.

The interview goes on to discuss other employment considerations that may play into the reopening process including, but not limited to, workers’ compensation, disability and reputational risks.

At the end of the podcast, Bob provides this important take home message for employers thinking about reopening their businesses:

To me, if you’re an employer this comes down to developing a plan. It’s no different than anything else you do in life. You need to develop a plan of action that’s going to include a review of those CDC guidelines, a review of those OSHA guidelines, and come up with some way to deal with this issue so that you can safely return your employees to the work site, and they can feel good about it when they come into work and feel safe.

To listen to the podcast, visit WealthAbility.