Staying vigilant with COVID-safety protocols is good business
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Staying vigilant with COVID-safety protocols is good business
Governor Inslee’s press conference on May 13th announced the state’s alignment with the CDC’s new mask guidelines, but retailer employers ought to consider additional factors when making their own mask policy decision.
- New frontline employee presumptive COVID workers’ comp coverage – ESSB 5115 signed into law effective May 11, 2021, says that retail frontline workers who contract COVID are presumed to have contracted from the workplace while the public health emergency is in place unless employers have a preponderance of evidence to rebut the presumption.
- Local health districts have the authority to override the state’s adoption of CDC’s new mask guidelines.
- June 30 is the date announced for full re-opening but it will be critical that hospital ICUs stay below 90% capacity.
- Full reopening does not necessarily mean the public health emergency order will end as COVID variants are a factor, according to Governor Inslee.
Staying vigilant with COVID safety protocols and encouraging employee vaccination continues to support best practices for employers. Below are several resource recommendations for your safety tool belt to share with your employees:
- Free app-based COVID-19 safety training with completion certification:
- WR is excited to announce that we have partnered with L&I Small Business Liaison office on a special project of COVID Safety Training. Utilizing our SAFEME app, we have added an additional course on how employers can train employees on proper COVID-19 practices.
- You can find this free training tool in English and Spanish.
- Communication tools for employers from the Center for Disease Control (CDC):
- Vaccine Availability:
- Vaccination locator from the Washington State Department of Health
- Mass vaccination sites in Washington
- Vaccine locator
For further questions on resources, please contact Rose Gundersen at rgundersen@waretailservices.com