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What are the rules for keeping consumers and employees safe in a post COVID-19 world?
Right now it is largely up to the business to decide, but standards are starting to emerge — set by the government and the private sector — to give people peace of mind as they enter a store or clock in at work.
This week, Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it will be increasing in-person inspections at all types of workplaces and will be revising its previous enforcement policy for recording of coronavirus cases.
The new enforcement guidance reflects changing circumstances in which many non-critical businesses have begun to reopen in areas of lower community spread, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Labor.
It said the risk of transmission is lower in specific categories of workplaces, and personal protective equipment potentially needed for inspections is more widely available.
OSHA staff will continue to prioritize COVID-19 inspections, and will utilize all enforcement tools as it has historically done.
Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, coronavirus is a recordable illness, and employers are responsible for recording cases of the coronavirus, if the case is confirmed as a coronavirus illness and is work-related, among other criteria.
Garrick Taylor, senior vice president of government relations and communications for Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said customers and workers now have a different expectation when it comes to keeping environments safe from germs.
“I’d say generally that we’d expect employers — especially those that interact with the public — to do all they can to convey to customers, and the broader public, that they’re doing all they can to stop the spread of the virus,” he said. “One would think that the companies that best convey their commitment to their customers’ health are the ones best positioned to rebound post-pandemic.”
In the private sector, Arizona-based Healthy Verify recently launched to provide certification for businesses that want to make consumers and employees feel safe.
Co-founder Court Rich said the goal of the certification process is to ensure a business is prepared to safely reopen, focused on business-specific procedures designed to reduce disease transmission, such as strict cleaning and sanitation guidelines and processes governing customer interactions.
Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona was the first organization certified by Healthy Verify, with 41 stores certified for health and cleanliness. This week, the company certified Offerpad, who buys and sells real estate using technology, and initially suspended buying in the wake of the pandemic.
Mr. Rich said certification provides businesses with a set of standards tailored specifically to each individual company’s needs.
The process also offers virtual training for employees on the implementation of procedures, and a final inspection of the facilities with an awarded certification if safety and sanitation standards are achieved.
Mr. Rich said people who enter a Healthy Verify certified-business, and those who work there, can be confident knowing the establishment is taking important steps to reduce the risk of transmitting infectious diseases.
“Every business is different, but Healthy Verify provides advice on how to do health checks for employees; what surfaces to clean and how often; what chemicals to use in cleaning; what employees should wear and how they should interact with the public; along with many other specifics depending on the business’ particulars,” Mr. Rich said.
Dr. Ana Moran, a clinical associate professor at the Barrow Neurological Institute, oversees Healthy Verify’s health safety programs and training protocols. She has more than 20 years of experience in infectious diseases, including developing and managing hospital infection control and prevention programs.
Certification expires annually, and once it is achieved, the business is subject to periodic monitoring to verify ongoing compliance and maintain certification. Throughout the year, Healthy Verify will update businesses, as the science and recommendations change from time-to-time.
“We do inspections both virtually and in person depending on the business,” Mr. Rich said. “Goodwill for example, had an in-person inspection. The virtual inspection uses Zoom or similar video applications and we confirm the business has implemented the steps we recommend.”
Scott Sheldon, owner of Enviro-Master Phoenix, knows all too well that cleanliness can be the difference between a customer patronizing a business or not.
He said that when the pandemic emerged, his business picked up as more people became concerned with cleanliness and hygiene.
Enviro-Master has workers with expert knowledge on commercial disinfection and killing germs, offering sanitization, and cleaning services to businesses across the Valley.
Mr. Sheldon said Enviro-Master is not a janitor service.
“We are a hygiene intervention company. We don’t replace your regular cleaning staff, but we work with them to do what they can’t do,” he said. “We offer a higher level of cleanlinesses using hospital grade disinfection for normal businesses.”
The disinfection teams from Enviro-Master use a number of tools to sanitize businesses, including Virus Vaporizer, which is a hospital grade germicide registered with the Environmental Protection Agency that wipes out 99% of 47 different disease-causing pathogens – including the new strain of coronavirus. The germicide has a residual virus-killing effect of five to seven days and is being used in various businesses, facilities and essential services.
Mr. Sheldon said since the pandemic, Enviro-Master went from predominantly focused on restroom hygiene to filling a lot of requests to full-sized buildings — offices, manufacturing facilities, restaurants, gyms — experiencing around a 50% increase in business.
Businesses that receive a cleaning may display Enviro-Master’s certification for customers to see.
Mr. Sheldon said as the pandemic emerged, the key focus was helping essential businesses stay open. Now Enviro-Master is shifting focus, helping businesses reopen safely.
“The general public is going to be hyper-sensitive for sometime to come. There are valid concerns and people are starting to have higher expectations. In the end, it’s been an incredible feeling doing the work people need, but also giving companies the ability to communicate to employees and customers so people feel safe working there and being there,” he said. “This has been a incredibly rewarding. When I bought this business, I had no idea how meaningful it would be for the public. It has been fantastic to ease people’s concerns and provide valid peace of mind.”
Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts.
He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing.
Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards.
In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
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