Joe Peluso:
Hey everybody, Joe, Peluso again, from Complete Payroll. Coming to you safely from my apartment in North Buffalo, New York. I'm very excited to have my buddy and our manager of auxiliary services on today, Greg Davy. Greg is a jack of all trades, but amongst other things, he is a genius when it comes to all things OSHA, which is the, I'm going to get this wrong, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Greg Davy:
Yeah, sure.
Joe Peluso:
Ah, so close.
Greg Davy:
I think you got it. I think you got it, buddy.
Joe Peluso:
I did get it. Anyways, OSHA. So Greg's an OSHA genius. The reason I have him on today is because OSHA just put out a document last week, that provides guidance for employers and companies that are going to be reopening soon. So yeah, it's a long document, it's 35 pages long and it's not easy to read. So I had Greg take a couple of days with it and break it down into some digestible pieces. And that's why I wanted to have him on today, was to make sense of this complicated document.
Joe Peluso:
So Greg, thank you so much for taking a few minutes to do that for us. We are talking on May 4th and Greg is a big Star Wars fan. Look at his face, I love him. He doesn't like me, it's fine. Greg, not from a JV Star Wars fan to a varsity Star Wars fan. I say, "May the 4th be with you."
Greg Davy:
Thanks pal.
Joe Peluso:
Awesome. All right, Greg, you took it, you read the OSHA thing, right?
Greg Davy:
Yep, yep.
Joe Peluso:
Just if you can, just maybe hit some of the high points and tell us, as if you're talking to a five year old, which you basically are in this situation, lay it out and break it down for us.
Greg Davy:
You got it, pal.
Joe Peluso:
Cool.
Greg Davy:
One of the things that it touches on repeatedly is, to have a plan, a continuity plan. You should have one regardless, but one specifically for this pandemic, specifically revolving around the isolation and the containment. Any plan though, needs to be flexible. This one included, because of just the constant changes that we're seeing day after day, it's a constantly revolving pandemic here.
Joe Peluso:
Yeah.
Greg Davy:
So some of those things consider when making those plans are, be as flexible as possible. It can't be something set in stone, but something that's known, educated on things to take into consideration for this specific situation, are things like, the amount of employee absenteeism that we're seeing for a number of reasons, self-care, care of others or just schools are closed.
Joe Peluso:
Yeah.
Greg Davy:
There's a lot of kids at home, a lot of parents staying home as well.
Joe Peluso:
What does it say about that? Like, to be more lenient about things like that?
Greg Davy:
Absolutely.
Joe Peluso:
Okay.
Greg Davy:
Absolutely, yeah. Anybody that's sick, anybody showing any kind of symptoms should just be staying home at this point and employers need to give a little extra in those particular situations.
Joe Peluso:
Okay. What about, how to treat that after, when a company reopens and welcomes people back?
Greg Davy:
Well, even when some of this stay at home stuff is lifted and even states are reopening schools or whatnot, which I just heard, that's not going to happen in New York State.
Joe Peluso:
Yep.
Greg Davy:
But it might not be the case in other places, but even when those things are relaxed a little, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be vigilant. Pay attention to any symptoms, wash your hands, hot water, soap, hand sanitizer when the hot water and soap isn't available. Cover your sneeze, cover your cough. Don't touch your face. I mean, the things that your mom tells you constantly when you're-
Joe Peluso:
Exactly. Yeah. I guess I didn't realize how often I touch my face and now I'm endlessly conscious of it, like everyone else is.
Greg Davy:
... oh, well, and it doesn't help that there's a dozen people in your life that are constantly reminding you of that.
Joe Peluso:
Right.
Greg Davy:
Don't touch your face. All right.
Joe Peluso:
Yeah. Oh yeah, for sure. Okay. All right. So that all falls under the heading of infection prevention, stuff like that?
Greg Davy:
Yes. Exactly.
Joe Peluso:
Okay.
Greg Davy:
There's also a section specifically saying, wash your hands, have hand washing stations available, have at least 60% alcohol hand sanitizer available, regular and thorough housekeeping. I can't say that enough. Regular and thorough housekeeping.
Joe Peluso:
Yes.
Greg Davy:
Housekeeping is paramount to safety regardless of any pandemic or anything along those lines.
Joe Peluso:
Yeah. For sure.
Greg Davy:
Regular and thorough.
Joe Peluso:
I like that.
Greg Davy:
One of the items in that document was regarding what you use to clean your regular and thorough housekeeping, and they specifically call out EPA approved. I believe the terminology was, protection from emerging viral pathogens. That's not any kind of guarantee that's just saying, "Yes, this stuff works right now."
Joe Peluso:
What kind of stuff?
Greg Davy:
Cleansers and whatnot.
Joe Peluso:
Oh, okay. Okay. All right. So it's mostly about that type of stuff. Because I guess it's right. There's really not a ton, that's the only thing you could do, is just make sure that the whole place is, there's a very well communicated-
Greg Davy:
Absolutely.
Joe Peluso:
... set of regulations in place, whatever. What about personal, PPE stuff, right? Does it mention anything about this or do you think that masks and gloves and stuff are going to be a mandatory thing for a while or what?
Greg Davy:
Well, for New York State, I think we're going to see, until June 15th, I think, until we get more news on whether things are lifted. All the essentials are supposed to be wearing masks right now.
Joe Peluso:
Right.
Greg Davy:
Employers should absolutely provide them if that's a possibility.
Joe Peluso:
Is that an OSHA recommendation or is that you?
Greg Davy:
No, that is something that's in there. Whenever possible, especially depending on your industry. Some industries are required to provide PPE, but again, this is a special circumstance and thus, we must take special considerations.
Joe Peluso:
Sure, sure. Is there anything in there about how to officially communicate this to employees? Once you have a plan that you're satisfied with, and that meets whatever requirements, how do you have to communicate it to your employees?
Greg Davy:
Well, I say housekeeping is something that's paramount to workplace safety, but education is equally.
Joe Peluso:
Sure.
Greg Davy:
You can have a perfect plan, but if it's not practiced, if it's not educated, then it's pointless.
Joe Peluso:
Okay.
Greg Davy:
So, just stay as regular and thorough with your housekeeping, regular and thorough education. And every page on the OSHA website will tell you that, will say, "Tell your employees, establish a policy, preach the policy, practice the policy."
Joe Peluso:
Okay. So I would assume maybe that's a handbook thing, right? Obviously, it would be wise to have employees sign off that they've been educated on this?
Greg Davy:
Absolutely, but that's not enough. You can never be complacent, ever vigilant. Complete Payroll has our internal team training where we cover workplace safety. Twice a year, we have a fire drill that is not necessarily team training, but then we have a team training specifically focused on where fire exits or extinguishers are, all of that jazz.
Joe Peluso:
Yeah. I feel like we're really good internally about being very thorough about educating and stuff like that. I don't know how it is at most other companies, but yeah. I feel like you're right. We're really, really good at that stuff. All right. There was something in here about exposure classifications?
Greg Davy:
Yeah. That's pretty straightforward. You're probably going to know what classification you're in. The very high are, the people tending to the sick, the health care workers, hospital emergency personnel. They're obviously, the ones in direct contact and have the highest chance of spreading and becoming infected.
Joe Peluso:
Okay.
Greg Davy:
But then right below that, are the people supporting them, the ambulance drivers, the supply and delivery people and the hospital's IT guy, the doctor doesn't do it all themselves.
Joe Peluso:
Right
Greg Davy:
So, those people know who they are. They know they're in very high and high risk categories.
Joe Peluso:
Sure.
Greg Davy:
Morticians and stuff, along those lines, the same. Although hopefully, we don't have to worry about them too much.
Joe Peluso:
Yeah. So what is that in the context of the document though, or is it just sort of establishes the-
Greg Davy:
Yeah. It more or less tells you to take that into consideration when you're making your plans-
Joe Peluso:
... okay.
Greg Davy:
... when you're putting those plans into action.
Joe Peluso:
That makes sense. Okay.
Greg Davy:
Well, like Complete Payroll. Honestly, we're not in direct physical contact with customers, all that often.
Joe Peluso:
Right.
Greg Davy:
A good force, you and I are working remotely, very, very little risk of infection.
Joe Peluso:
All right. All right. So that's pretty much the high level view of it or is there anything else you'd like to-
Greg Davy:
Really, the plan is the key. Sit down, decide what to do and then do it.
Joe Peluso:
... and then right, make sure you enforce it.
Greg Davy:
Yeah.
Joe Peluso:
Awesome. Are you the one that's tasked with our plan, when we where?
Greg Davy:
No, not necessarily. Who's going to keep us safe, Greg, if not you? I was hoping it would be you.
Joe Peluso:
Our officers are doing what they're required to do.
Greg Davy:
Fair enough.
Joe Peluso:
And I'll chase after him if they don't.
Joe Peluso:
All right. You're the check. I got it. I love it. All right. All right. Well, yeah, Greg, this is great. I really thank you so much for taking the time to go through the document because I know it's not the easiest thing in the world to read. Yeah. Thank you so much for familiarizing yourself with it and then taking some time to talk to me and helping educate me and hopefully other people that, this is not their purview, I guess, is the word I'm thinking about. All right.
Greg Davy:
I would still certainly recommend, any employer that's reopening or pulling staff back to a centralized location, kind of thing, review that document. The last few pages are the credits and whatnot and there is a lot of redundancy, but there's good stuff in there. OSHA tries to be a little merciful on the legalees.
Joe Peluso:
Well, it was too much for my brain and I really appreciate you making it palatable and digestible. All right. I'll make sure there's definitely going to be a link to the OSHA document wherever this video lives. So thank you so much, Greg. You're the greatest. Live long and prosper. That's not Star Wars. Oh, man. All right, Greg. Thank you so much. You're the greatest. I can't wait to sit next to you at the Hole in the Wall and eat a Caesar salad because that's long overdue.
Greg Davy:
You go ahead and have your salad, pal.
Joe Peluso:
I will. All right buddy, take care.
Greg Davy:
See you.
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