Whether your company has been considered “essential” from the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, or is now looking to get started on May 7th when ALL construction is given the go ahead to resume safely as the Stay Home, Stay Safe order continues, getting employees to come back to work seems to be a major challenge.
MITA has held two webinars over the last couple of weeks, and by far the number one concern raised by the participating contractors is getting their folks back to work. With easy access to government assistance programs and an ongoing sense of anxiety about the virus, many employees are hesitant about coming back to work, even though much of the industry’s work regularly involves being outdoors with natural social distancing, as well as regular use of personal protective equipment, which has historically been routine.
Bodman law firm, a MITA partner, has put together a sample “return to work” letter for employers to use to encourage employees to come back to work once each respective company is ready to restart operations. The letter includes legal language to help protect employers and motivational language to help employees with this decision.