Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 J U N E 1 , 2 0 2 0 Confused about payroll and HR during these uncertain times? We're not. We're not. Call now, gain a partner for the long haul. Time & Attendance Solutions Payroll Processing Worker's Comp Pay-As-You-Go PAYROLLMGT.COM 800-734-6880 Real People. Really Great Service. EXTREME AFFORDABILITY $1,400/session flat tuition rate UNPARALLELED SUPPORT personal academic success coach EXCEPTIONAL FLEXIBILITY Courses are 100% online. Always accessible. You choose the pace. THE WAY IT SHOULD BE Sessions start July 6 & August 31, 2020 This is college for adults: GET STARTED TODAY! at the UNIVERSITY of MAINE at PRESQUE ISLE umpi.edu/yp | 844.811.7391 | umpi-yourpace@maine.edu MaineBiz_UMPI_YourPace-qrtr.pdf 1 5/6/2020 9:20:37 AM B I Z M O N E Y The playbook for companies reopening this summer B y R e n e e C o r d e s W hen businesses press restart after the COVID-19 shutdown, it won't be as simple as putting an "open" sign on the door or office. Employers will have to navigate a host of legal obligations to make workplaces safe and healthy. Companies will also need to communicate about all the steps they take to be compliant, and won't be able to force staff back to work if they can still do their jobs from home. Those were some of the takeaways from a recent Mainebiz webcast, "What Does 'Open' Look Like?" Some 525 people signed up for the webinar. The session featured Jim Erwin, a partner at the law firm Pierce Atwood; Catherine Lamson, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at MEMIC, a workers' compensation insurance provider; and Heather Paquette, vice president of retail services at Scarborough-based Hannaford Supermarkets. It's been a busy time for law firms, and Erwin said that Pierce Atwood had been putting out far more reports and research materials than it typically does for clients amid a situation that neither the firm nor its clients has seen the likes of before. Erwin said that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration has the legal authority to oversee workplace safety in Maine and noted that it had already received more than 1,000 complaints related to the pandemic. "OSHA is and will remain at the center of regulatory framework for workplace safety," he said. Erwin also touched on other guidelines, including ones from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, other guidance from the state, and industry-specific COVID-19 checklists the Maine Department of Community and Economic Development is constantly adding to and updating. While CDC guidance is not legally binding, Erwin underscored that OSHA rules are mandatory, cautioning: "If OSHA doesn't think you have a safe workplace, they can cite you and fine you." Like Pierce Atwood, MEMIC also has resources on its website for employers in Maine, specifically about COVID-19 as it relates to a workforce and workers' compensation policy. As a large employer itself, Lamson said MEMIC is "making sure that we have communicated appropriately with our staff to let them know what our plan is" when it reopens. That includes letting people know about all the precautions the company is taking in terms of cleaning, as well as new policies on social distancing and wearing face masks in the office. "We have all that written out, we know exactly how we're going to initiate the program," Lamson said, adding that the company is in the process of distributing the plan and setting up training for staff members wanting to come back. But she also said that the team has managed very well remotely, so nobody will be required to come back to the office. 'All-hands-on-deck mentality' As a business that has stayed open the whole time, Hannaford had to build its plan as COVID-19 was happening, coming up with a plan at the outset that has changed 75 times since then, according to Paquette. She said the grocery store chain has been following CDC guidance closely which itself has changed a few times, and noted that each of the five states in which Hannaford operates has unique needs it has needed to meet. That was also a plus in allowing the company to observe trends in larger markets. Extended shopping hours for senior citizens, for example, started in a different state and was introduced in Maine before it was mandated. Throughout the pandemic, she said that safety was most important, followed by service, both of which required a variety of accommodations to the business model. That included having all staff providing store and operations support wherever needed. "We established an all-hands-on-deck mentality," she said. We established an all-hands-on-deck mentality. — Heather Paquette Hannaford Supermarkets

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