A Legal Take: Reducing the Risk of COVID in Your Office

Avoiding the Disease– Both for You and Your Employees

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2020 / Avoiding the Coronavirus is an important part of our modern life. I know that we are all sick and tired of all of the restrictions. Still, the virus is still out there and presents a unique risk for each of us. Furthermore, if you are in charge of an office, it is also a risk for those employed and the people that enter.

Work has changed dramatically since March. Indeed, the virus itself has changed our society as a whole. We tend to think about the effects of the virus on our every day life. Have to make sure to take a mask with us. Double check the hand sanitizer. Wash your hands. We do everything we can to keep both ourselves and our friends and family safe. Sometimes this goes well beyond our actions in the workplace. Indeed, our lives have been turned upside down.

The same goes for working in an office. We have a special obligation to our employees and those we serve. Whether or not you operate an office of two people or one of hundreds, the pressure is still the same. You want each of the people involved to be safe. And most likely your business model cannot sustain itself if you have many of your employees sick or on leave. You need to make sure that you and your employees are protected for a number of reasons. The survival of your business is certainly one of them. During this difficult time, we have to make sure that we can put food on the table and pay rent and a mortgage. Here is where we can help each other. Below we discuss several ways to avoid being caught flat footed.

About the Author

Michael Ehline has suffered through this disease just as you have. Fortunately he and his family have not been infected, but the wider effects are difficult enough. Running a boutique law firm, Ehline and his team had to revamp their operations from top to bottom. This included the role of physical difference in the office and how to admit clients and visitors. This was no easy task. It required extensive research and effort in order to do so.

And so since March Ehline has become a bit of an expert at retrofitting an office to make it COVID compliant. And I don’t mean just as far as the law is concerned. He’s been over that many times on his legal blog here. Ehline’s written about all sorts of legal measures taken since the start of the pandemic. He’s also written about many of the legal challenges the average person– and business faces due to the virus. Like we’ve mentioned above, none of this is easy. Especially for a small business owner during our current troubles.

This goes double for Ehline’s experiences. As the head of a premier boutique law firm in Southern California, you had better believe that his team cares about their safety. The Ehline Law Firm Personal Injury Attorneys APLC has won a number of awards due to their success and conduct before. We just never imagined we might win one due to our complete overhaul caused by the virus. As a result, we’ve learned a lot. And we take some of our experience, as well as what we’ve read about and researched to better inform the public, including other small business owners.

Avoiding Risk at All Costs

There are several things that an office can take right now to reduce the spread of the virus. This goes especially for law firms, which often have a different flow of clients and visitors to the office. In fact, in many ways, this makes the job at least a little bit easier. At the very least, we have that going for us!

These include:

• Designating certain walkways and restricted areas. Create paths of flow around the office to ensure that people are not congregating together. This may include creating one way paths.
• Creating separate spaces. This often includes rearranging common areas. One of the most common is the break room or kitchen. You may also need to separate desks by at least 6 feet.
• Mandate the use of masks. This is certainly up to each office, but it is also the law. The state of California requires the use of masks indoors for mixed spaces. This includes legal offices.
• Designating a person in charge. This doesn’t mean assigning a boss. This includes the role of an emergency manager in case important info needs to go out. This may mean creating a phone tree or an email chain. Make sure that everyone can be notified of an important notice immediately.
• Mandating training. This one is often difficult for office employees to grasp. We all seem to hate coming together for mandated training. And the state is still not clear about exactly what each office employee should know. However, in cases like this you should have an emergency plan written and ready to implement. And make sure to let your employees know all the details.

Don’t be Caught Off Guard

No matter what you do, the last thing you want is for the virus to rampage through your office. Or face a hefty fine from the state. No matter what type of office you run, the list above is just a starting point. If you are making your employees come in, you need to be safe. And they deserve nothing less. As a result, every office’s plans will be a bit different. But, with any luck, the results will be the same.

For more info, or to contact Michael Ehline, contact us at (213) 596-9642 or email us at losangeles@ehlinelaw.com. Contact him with any questions or to set up an interview or find out more info.

And no matter what you do, make sure to keep those around you safe in these dangerous times!

Works Cited

Ehline Law website: Ehline Law Legal Blog

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
CONTACT PERSON: MICHAEL EHLINE
CONTACT INFO: LOSANGELES@EHLINELAW.COM
DATE: 9/15/2020

SOURCE: Ehline Law Firm

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