Carrie Yeager, the health department’s environmental health director said, “Under section 9 of the Essential Infrastructure clause in the stay-at-home order, distribution or fulfillment centers are considered essential businesses. Essential businesses may stay open but must still operate with caution and follow social distancing requirements, like staying 6 feet away from coworkers if they must be on site.”
These businesses are required to follow basic minimum operations to be in compliance with the state order. Those requirements include:
- Maintain 6-foot social distancing from other individuals.
- Separate employees who appear to have acute repository illness symptoms from other employees and send them home immediately.
- Allow employees to wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as frequently as possible or using hand sanitizer.
- Encourage sick employees to stay at home until they are fever free for 72 hours without medication, symptoms have improved for at least 72 hours, and seven days have passed since symptoms began.
- Frequently perform enhanced cleaning of the facility, including cleaning all door handles, railings, counter tops and work stations. Be prepared to change business practices if needed or even temporarily suspend business operations.
- Do not require a health care provider's note for either illness or return to work.
- Sick leave policies must be up to date, flexible and non-punitive to allow sick employees to stay at home.
- Reinforce key messages of stay at home when sick, cover coughs and sneezes, and practice good hand washing.
“If an essential business cannot comply with the stay-at-home order requirements, they should not be operating at this time,” Yeager said.
The order gave local health departments the authority within their jurisdictions to make decisions and interpretations about businesses that were not specifically listed in the order. Local health districts will not always be in complete agreement and that is allowable.
When the health department receives a complaint on any business, a staff member contacts the business in question. The business is asked about their operations, and requests details regarding their social distancing and cleaning practices. A thorough and factual investigation may take several days before next steps are taken.
The health department received a number of complaints and questions about the operations at the Kohl’s E-commerce Fulfillment Center at 3500 Salzman Road.
When contacted by the health department, a Kohl’s representative, Shawn Karasarides, sent health inspector Ryan Peltier an email outlining the precautions the facility was taking.
Those precautions included designating 6-foot distances and marking them with tape; providing additional hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes throughout the building; following comprehensive cleaning and sanitizing protocols and putting added focus on frequently touched areas; encouraging frequent hand washing; encouraging sick employees to stay home; and keeping entry doors open to avoid touching door handles.
Peltier inspected the facility on April 2 and found it in full compliance with the state orders, according to his report.
The Monroe distribution center typically employs between 850 and 1,000 people.
Kohl’s e-commerce fulfillment centers remain open to support customer demand for orders placed on Kohls.com and the Kohl’s app.
Weston Banker, senior coordinator, Kohl’s corporate public relations, said, “The health and safety of our associates and customers remains our top priority.”
Banker said work attendance at this time is strictly voluntary, and anyone preferring additional time away from work may use sick time or paid time off, as applicable. He also said Kohl’s is providing temporary bonus pay.
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