Please see our February 1, 2022 article providing new and additional information on this topic. The facts, laws, and regulations regarding COVID-19 are developing rapidly and this advisory may reference out of date information.
Originally Published: May 19, 2020
Last Updated: June 30, 2020
Many businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest will soon start the process of phased reopening or have already reopened to some extent. This requires employers to take new measures to protect their employees, their operations, and their customers.
Whether, when, and how a particular business can reopen will largely depend on where the business is located and what industry it is in. In all cases, however, employers must remember that they have an overarching obligation under state and federal workplace health and safety laws to provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to their employees. This means that employers, now more than ever, need to remain vigilant in staying informed about potential risks and proactive in adopting proper procedure to reduce them. To help with that effort, we have compiled below a summary of the current state of reopenings in Washington and Oregon, as well as a list of key considerations and links to the resources that employers will want to take into account when reopening their operations. In order to cover the breadth of content and provide the depth of substantive resources that we hope will be useful as a reference for going forward, we are providing hyperlinks to a host of applicable guidance and additional resources on the substantive items covered by this overview.
For the full article, please click here.
