Reopening Guidance

Many new procedures need to be in place—and monitored constantly—as shops reopen. The task can feel overwhelming, but a methodical approach can lead to a successful return at a time when COVID-19 is part of a new normal for workplaces. 

As you plan to reopen, a good first step is to check your state’s website for updates and guidance on reopening in your region. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has created a useful page and interactive map to help you keep track of developments in your area.

Here's A Five-Point Plan for Reopening

There’s a dizzying array of advice out there for companies looking to plan how to bring their operations back online amid the pandemic. 

At a recent webinar on the topic, held by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Alan Thayer, founder of the Innovative Law Group, offered some clarity with the following five-point plan for reopening a business:

1. First, know the rules: Understand your state and local guidelines, the guidelines given by federal authorities and the standards for your industry.
2. Once you have examined and understand the guidance, develop your own protocols and put them in writing.
3. Communicate those new protocols to your employees, to your customers and to your vendors and reinforce them using training and signage.
4. Next, implement your new protocols using various steps needed to make your workplace compliant. This might mean physically restructuring the workplace or installing such tools as plexiglass barriers between work areas.
5. Finally, enforce your rules. If you know the rules, you develop protocols and you communicate those protocols—and you enforce them—your business should be in a much better shape to reopen, to stay open, and to avoid lawsuits, Thayer says.