Returning Employees To Work During COVID-19 – Best Practices For Employers

The employment landscape during COVID-19 continues to evolve. As employers and employees alike begin to adjust and adapt to these circumstances, employers will need to determine the safe and efficient way to return employees to work.

Employers have a duty to protect employees from work-related injury and illness. All employers have a duty to:

• Take reasonable precautions to protect health and safety of employees that are tailored to the nature of the employee's work and the likelihood of the hazard in the workplace;
• Communicate workplace hazards to employees; and
• Train employees on how to deal with workplace hazards.

Some jurisdictions require employers to develop a COVID-19 safety plan¹ to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. Each workplace is unique so employers are required to conduct COVID-19 hazard risk assessments in their workplaces to determine what precautions are required. Employers are required to reassess their safety