How Dealers Should Handle COVID (Co-author Kristina Vaquera)

Another article about COVID-19? 

Ugh! Snap! And oh, my!

Employers everywhere are tired with having to handle this additional burden to running their business. But, now, more than ever, it’s important to mitigate your risk by being consistent and current in how you handle COVID. Don’t let your guard down now.   

In this article, we will limit our discussion to the federal perspective on COVID as each state may have its own rules or requirements. 

FACT: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says you can mandate employee vaccinations for employees physically entering the workplace based on business necessity subject to reasonable accommodation requirements. In essence, if it is a threat to the safety and well-being of employees and customers, you can require vaccinates. Very few jobs at the dealership may be completed by being isolated by plexiglass or office walls. Most require daily face-to-face customer contact that cannot be eliminated.

FACT: If vaccines are required, employees may claim two (2) accommodations:

• Because of their sincerely held religious beliefs (i.e., Title VII of the Civil Rights Act), or
• Because of their disability (i.e. the Americans with Disabilities Act)

If an employee asserts an accommodation request, call your employment lawyer for more specifics on how to handle the situation. Each case is different based on the facts.

FACT: To protect your employees and customers, ensure you have the latest signage from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and your state safety and health departments. For example, current CDC guidance has different masking requirements depending on whether you are in a low or medium to high-risk transmission area.

Click here for more information.

FACT: As the employer, you are still required to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitizing stations.

Outbreaks at the dealership? If you are having frequent positive COVID situations at the store, you may need to revisit your policies and their efficacy. If you make changes, document what you are doing. Are you required to keep a log of positive cases, or report to your state? Make sure you are doing so if required. If OSHA, or any agency, visits you, they want to know what you are doing to protect everyone. Be diligent here. 

FACT: If you sell fleet vehicles to the government, or have a federal contract, then you may be a federal contractor. If so, you must follow federal COVID mandates required by Executive Order. You may also be subject to mandatory vaccine requirements if you have 100 or more employees. 

FACT: On September 9th, President Biden signed an Executive Order requiring employees of contractors doing business with the federal government to be vaccinated which builds off a previously issued Executive Order from July. President Biden also mandated that OSHA is developing a rule requiring all businesses with more than 100 employees to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated or require workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. This mandate also requires employers to provide paid time off for the time it takes workers to get vaccinated or to recover if they are under the weather post-vaccination. It is unknown if employers will have to pay for the cost of testing and/or the time associated with testing.  

This situation continues to evolve. Don’t “take on” risk by being lackadaisical when it comes to COVID.

Author's note: The above article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.