How can business owners protect themselves and their customers from liability when they reopen?

Cal/OSHA is coming with some very good suggestions as they themselves could be imposing fines for business owners who are not responsible for  their employees. That information can be utilized as a guideline on what actions a business owner can take to protect themselves from the ever litigious public. 

The truth is, we business owners can’t protect everyone from liability.  Too many variables involved with this pandemic disease.  We’ve seen nothing like this in any of our lifetimes.  No measure of risk management is going to solve the problem of liability here.  We live in a litigious society, where anyone can sue another for just about anything- without necessarily having a sound, logical basis for our actions.   Generally speaking, our collective best decisions going forward will revolve around two core principles: 1) shoot people straight, 2) do the right thing.  Sound familiar?  I believe if we follow these two basic rules as our M.O., we will minimize the likelihood of creating problems for ourselves and others. There is plenty of credible information readily available to the public, for educating ourselves about proper protocols on how to prudently handle our various work/home/social environments.  So much so, that we really can’t logically blame our own decisions on ignorance.  And we shouldn’t be allowed to ignore the use of good ol’ commonsense...

Stay safe and healthy, and best of luck everyone!

The best protection for a business is getting their employees to operate virtually if at all possible. The fact is we are still in the middle of this pandemic!
If this is not an option then, I strongly recommend having Workers Comp and General Liability coverage in place. The greater risk will probably come from workers who will have contact with others.

  This could increase the chance of contracting the virus at work. There is an increased risk that customers may claim they got sick and suffered due to the company’s negligence. Employees does not have to prove negligence, the process to file a workers comp claim is very simple.

I have been talking to a few of my business clients, and nothing has been told to them on what to do, including insurance carriers. Especially for restaurants where more social contact is happening, this could cause a great deal of concern to you the owners of a possible lawsuit. My suggestion is to reach out to your lobbyist organization, or even a local congressman, or Gov. DeWine himself. It reminds me of how a new business starts out and your only focus is opening up that door and making your first dollar. And not all things have been reviewed and a process in place. For this everything needs to be in place when you open that door.

every business needs a support team - lawyer, banker, accountant, insurance broker, and some type of HR consultant. NOW is the time to speak with them and review your plan to move forward as well as any possible things you may have failed to do in the last 90 days. Review, plan, focus, take action ...

I am going through this with my employee benefits clients and it seems like it will be on a case by case situation. 

Assuming this is an essential service then they can have employees in the office and ASSUMING they are following all H&S rules including enforcing social distancing and implementing office protocols that ensure the employees can social distance AND providing all protective supplies (hand sanitizer, masks etc.) then they can have employees in office.

Assuming the work place is safe and an essential service (or on the list of businesses to be open), team members can now come in. Good resources here: https://www.pshsa.ca/resources/health-and-safety-guidance-during-covid-19-for-employers-of-office-settings. The employer now needs to decide their policy on WFH and if their policy is no work from home allowed? If allowed when and how?

They need to really get to bottom of why a worker is refusing to potential come to work. If it is considered a disability same responsibilities apply to accommodate as did pre-covid. Maybe they live with someone immune compromised, maybe child care is the issue? If the refusal is due to feeling unsafe the employer or JHSC would then have to investigate specifics of the concern and advised how it is being addressed to prove it is safe. JHSC would follow work refusal protocols.

Please let me know if you would like to talk through your specific business situation.

I will be still be doing social distancing, as well when possible i will conduct business virtually.  This will help protect myself, as well my clients. 

If you have any questions, or would like go learn more of how I maybe able to assist with your financial portfolio.

Thank you

Terry Searles

www.terrysearles.ca

[email address]

Under the current environment we are all facing the same exposure. Education and information are the most any company can offer at this time. Companies can take all possible precaution in the form of cloves, mask, shields, thorough cleaning daily, recommendation to wash your hands often, limiting crowds, etc. They can also add support for their employees. That support will differ from company to company.

Some insurance companies are not fully operating because of covid-19 and it is doubtful that any insurance company will provide liability that covers covid-19. Individuals can seek personal insurance coverage that will offer added coverage to what they are receiving currently.

I’ve read through a number of responses and I see only a few good answers and every single one misses the point. An entrepreneur has to believe they are a super hero of sorts as small businesses can not afford all the coverages that middle market and above should have.  So the best you can do is to follow all guidelines and then some. We all hope that businesses will be absolved of this liability by law, but lacking that, we are all taking a risk.  if I want to really hurt a business , I know how to word the complaint so it will not fall within the policy language and so do most attorneys. A large publicly traded business carries all types of liability coverage because they answer to their stockholders. A smaller business has to pick and choose which exposures are the most important to them and try to do the best they can to avoid other risks. The last sad fact is that most brokers who know all the exposures are only doing larger accounts, which is why I train and mentor ordinary brokers now, but for a fee or agreements based on acquiring the account. Good luck to all of us in business out there!!

The basic recommendation is to be smart about reopening.  Follow the State and Federal guidelines and timetables, provide PPE, maintain safe distancing and clean where appropriate.  Insurance policies vary in many sections regarding coverage for this virus, for your employees, your business and your customers.  Insurance companies are looking into their policies for possible ways to provide coverage to their customers.  Let me know if you would like me to read your policies to determine where you might have coverage, and we can answer your concerns.