Business Continuity During the Pandemic: Where You Need to Be By April 7 (ish)
March 27, 2020
The current wave of “shelter in place” and other similar orders has triggered concern among many businesses – large and small – about their own business continuity. The lack of clarity around what such restrictions require (and don’t require) and when they will be fully lifted has created considerable and understandable confusion and anxiety. Polsinelli has been assisting clients with navigating the rules around who is and is not “essential” and, therefore, able to work (at least outside of their home). Thought needs to be given now, however, to where employers should be by April 7th(ish) – when employees in some states may be able to start returning to work.
The CDC has made clear that while strict containment measures are critically important at the moment - to help “flatten the curve” - they are not indefinite. The CDC refers to these efforts as a “15 day pause.” Most of these orders are set to expire between April 7 and April 21. The CDC cautions, however, that “15 days may not be long enough and will depend on a variety of factors from community to community.”
But what comes next? The CDC describes a “slow, staged progression back to normalcy” and urges communities to “begin planning for an orderly return to daily life.” The CDC further offers ample guidance as to the steps that employers can take to help prepare for that “slow, staged progression back to normalcy.”
Employers have a rare opportunity now to “retool” for the return to normalcy. We will offer further guidance in the coming days and weeks, but here is a rough blueprint:
Expect the Expected. The return to normalcy will be slow. When restrictions ease, it is likely that some significant containment measures will remain, including with respect to identifying and isolating individual cases and restricting travel to and from regions that are experiencing on-going community transmission. Review your contingency plans. Can production, distribution or operations be transferred between locations to minimize disruption when necessary? Are workers cross-trained in critical functions? Have you diversified your global supply chain or begun planning to do so mitigating the risks posed by any one region?
Reconfigure your physical facilities. Move work stations; move tables; space them out; mark lanes; develop user-friendly signs; plan to add hand sanitizer stations (at least when supplies catch up).
Reconfigure administrative safeguards. Many employers have had a crash course in remote work. Don’t expect remote work to end on April 7. Improve and refine it. Use it whenever possible to reduce workplace congestion and enhance physical distancing efforts. Moving beyond remote work – review your hours of operations and consider new approaches. Stagger or create new shifts. Reduce congestion and allow for increased environmental cleaning.
Design a robust COVID-19/Pandemic Response Plan. It’s not too late to develop (or improve) your response plan. The current pandemic is not likely to end soon, though it will hopefully be improved by the 15 day pause effort around the country. Again, look to the CDC for guidance. An effective playbook should be:
Flexible and involve substantial employee input.
Tested against (1) your experience to date and (2) a focused discussion or exercise testing whether the plan has gaps or problems that need to be corrected.
Transparent – share your plan with employees and explain what human resources policies, workplace and leave flexibilities, and pay and benefits will be available to them. Employees will need to be and feel safe at work if they are to be productive.
Rooted in best practices – talk to other businesses in your communities (especially those in your supply chain), chambers of commerce, and associations to improve community response efforts.
Polsinelli will help facilitate these efforts. Begin now. April 15 is no longer tax filing day. April 7th(ish), however, is fast approaching and is just as important a deadline.
