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Component Manufacturing dverti$er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$er
April 2020 #12249 Page #90
What to Do If Someone at Your LBM Operation Gets (or May Have) the Coronavirus Craig Webb - President Webb Analytics
T
he rapid rise in cases of Americans infected or possibly infected with the coronavirus made it inevitable that the lumber and building materials industry would be affected eventually. Here are some expert recommendations on how you should respond if one of your employees gets the virus. Note that these ideas assume you already are following advice from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other sources regarding how to keep coronavirus at bay. This document is for when you think COVID-19 is on your doorstep or it has definitely arrived.
You Can’t Ask Workers Directly If They Have Coronavirus That’s a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). However, you can ask employees whether they have a fever (100.4°F or higher, the CDC says), sore throat, coughing, trouble breathing, or other flu-like symptoms that have persisted for at least 24 hours. And there’s no crime in your watching for symptoms if the employee doesn’t volunteer them. You also can ask staffers whether they have traveled to certain regions or been in contact with anyone who is infected.
Order Infected Workers to Go Home or Stay Home If you get a confirmed or suspected candidate for COVID-19, tell that person to stay home and selfquarantine for at least 14 days. This holds even if the person calls merely to say they feel sick. Suggest a test. If the test results are back, ask the employee when they tested positive; that will help you and others get an estimate of when the illness was first contracted two weeks back, and how much shorter or longer the 14-day quarantine should be. Urge the employee to stay in contact with a health care provider.
Don’t Be Surprised If Others Leave, Too Given the small, close-knit nature of your typical independent lumberyard, it’s logical to assume that, if an employee doesn’t show up for work, others will be concerned. Some may respond to the news of an infected worker (or even a suspected infection of a worker) by leaving work and self-quarantining. That could decimate your staff. That’s one reason why plenty of communication and advice before you get to this point is essential. Continued next page
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