November 17, 2020 — On Sunday, Nov. 15, Gov. Whitmer announced a new MDHHS order instituting new restrictions that enter into effect Nov. 18, Wednesday. Some MABA members have had questions about the order as it relates to office workers and staffing. Regarding office work, please note: Under MIOSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Rules, employers are required to create a policy prohibiting in-person work for employees to the extent that their work activities can feasibly be completed remotely. The Nov. 15 MDHHS order allows “gatherings”: between an employee and a customer for the purpose of receiving services that occur consistent with the Emergency Rules issued by MIOSHA (above) MIOSHA indicated last week it will step up inspection of office work environments. MDHHS has a fact sheet here discussing remote work on page 2; we recommend reviewing it. Here are some basic recommendations from MABA regarding office workers: If the employee can feasibly work from home, they need to do that, both for regulatory compliance purposes, and for safety in light of increasing case numbers. This is a good opportunity to review your in-office staffing situation with your leadership teams. If the employee has a customer-facing role, they can fill that role in the office but need to have clear direction to wear a mask, distance, not share equipment, and otherwise follow the above MIOSHA guidance. Keep in mind that some office work activities are not feasibly done remotely. For example, MABA has staff visit our office on a very limited basis to collect the mail and perform certain upkeep tasks that require being on-site. We recommend reviewing the MDHHS fact sheet above for more about this. As always, it is important to ensure you are making a good-faith effort to follow the latest guidance. We recommend interpreting the guidelines conservatively as they apply to whether an employee should be on-site in the office.
