April 1 - furloughs and layoffs due to employee fears - and NECA exposure control plan

Just a few items.

• I’m receiving numerous requests for N95 masks (and other PPE) from first responders and hospitals. If any of you have any extra you’d be willing to donate, please let me know. Thanks!

• I’m hearing reports in multiple jurisdictions of employers telling employees requesting a furlough or layoff that they are “contesting their unemployment.” Please don’t use that phrase.

Once again, you do not have to grant a furlough or layoff. That is at your discretion and furloughs and layoffs are reductions in force due to a lack of work. You CAN grant it obviously, but you don’t HAVE to. You don’t need to make them quit though either. They can simply walk of the job after you make it clear that you do have work available to them and they’ve made it clear that they fear contracting coronavirus. You can then be completely honest on your response to the claims. No you didn’t give a layoff or a furlough, yes you have work for them and yes they indicated they feared they would contract coronavirus. It's up to the state to decide what to do with that information once it's provided. Just be honest about what happened.

• Is someone contracting COVID-19 an OSHA recordable? No. Not at this time. However it does need to be documented. We have several resources available to help you address this although I have asked NECA National do create something that specifically guides you on this subject. Here are links to what we have.

• NECA – Example Exposure Plan

• CISC – Exposure, Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan