City of Redlands provides guidance to ‘essential businesses’ for worker and customer safety

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In keeping with California law requiring employers to establish and implement injury and illness prevention programs to protect employees from worksite hazards, including infectious diseases, the City of Redlands is providing guidelines to businesses in our community that continue to operate as essential businesses within the state and county public health orders.

This guidance is intended to provide additional protections during the COVID-19 Pandemic to help ensure worker and customer safety. Rather than implementing new regulations and enforcement, the City is, instead, seeking voluntary compliance from all essential businesses.

All businesses should:

  • Limit the number of consumers in a store at any given time to 20 to 30 percent of the store’s capacity.
  • Enforce social distancing requirements by marking down the floors inside and outside stores with indicators as well as posted signs to remind customers and employees of 6-foot physical distancing requirements;
  • If possible, companies should designate an entrance and exit for each store to help with crowd control.
  • Staff members should be assigned to the entrance and exit of a store, to help mitigate the number of customers inside the store at any given time.
  • Maintain security onsite to enforce social distancing measures and to safeguard employees from unruly customers;
  • Companies should allow sufficient time overnight to allow stores to be properly sanitized and restocked.
  • Companies should install Plexiglas shields at all points of sale whenever possible.
  • Companies must follow all Cal-OSHA guidelines.
  • Companies should inform their employees of what precautions they will take when an employee tests positive for COVID-19 and to the best of their ability inform affected employees without violating HIPPA when a coworker within a store tests positive for COVID-19.
  • Clearly post signs outside of the store and in the store to remind people to:
    • Have one family member shop at a time.
    • Adhere to physical distancing throughout the store — not just at check out.
    • Properly discard their own Personal Protective Equipment. Do not leave it in the stores or shopping carts.
    • Adhere to limits of people in stores.
    • Adhere to special shopping times for seniors.
    • Treat employees and other customers with respect. If they are concerned with an item being out of stock, have them please visit the service desk.
    • Remind customers that they must wear a face covering.