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Resources for Businesses and Employees

New York State has temporarily banned all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason and 100% of the workforce must stay home, excluding essential services. For the latest news and updates, visit the New York State Coronavirus website.

 

Dutchess Business Notification Network (DBNN)

For COVID-19 updates for businesses and non-profits, join the Dutchess Business Notification Network:

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Recent Updates

New York State has temporarily banned all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason and 100% of the workforce must stay home, excluding essential services.

The following buisnesses have been ordered to temporarily close:

  • Restaurants and bars closed for on-premises service; take-out and delivery only
  • Movie theaters 
  • Gyms
  • Casinos
  • Indoor portions of retail shopping malls
  • Amusement parks
  • Bowling Alleys
  • Barbershops
  • Hair salons
  • Tattoo or piercing parlors
  • Nail salons
  • Hair removal services and related personal care services

Increase Your Business’ Resilience and Readiness

To increase your business’ resilience and readiness during the COVID-19 outbreak, DBCH recommends businesses strongly encourage employees to:

  1. Stay home when sick (Poster, .pdf)
  2. Cover your cough (Poster, .pdf)
  3. Wash your hands with soap and water frequently for 20 seconds.  Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water is not available. (Website/Social Media graphics for use to promote employee handwashing.)
  4. Clean frequently touched surfaces. NYS Department of Health has guidance about how facilities should be cleaned. AND  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a list of EPA-registered antimicrobial products 

Refer employees to the www.DutchessNY.gov/Coronavirus website for current information and status about COVID-19.  

To assist with your business’ continuity of operations, review policies related to the following situations in our Guidance section:

Guidance

  • Employees who are ill should stay home until they are fever-free and symptom-free without the use of fever-reducing medications or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants) for at least 24 hours. Employees should notify their supervisor and stay home if they are sick.
  • Talk with companies that provide your business with contract or temporary employees about the importance of sick employees staying home and encourage them to develop non-punitive leave policies.
  • Do not require a healthcare provider’s note for employees who are sick with acute respiratory illness to validate their illness or to return to work, as healthcare provider offices and medical facilities may be extremely busy and not able to provide such documentation in a timely way.
  • Employers should maintain flexible policies that permit employees to stay home to care for a sick family member. Employers should be aware that more employees may need to stay at home to care for sick children or other sick family members than is usual.
  • Employees who are sick upon arrival to work or become sick during the day should be separated from other employees and be sent home immediately. 
  • Provide tissues and no-touch disposal receptacles for use by employees.
  • Provide soap and water and alcohol-based hand rubs in the workplace. Ensure that adequate supplies are maintained. Place hand rubs in multiple locations or in conference rooms to encourage hand hygiene.
  • Provide disposable wipes so that commonly used surfaces (for example, doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls, desks) can be wiped down by employees before each use.
  • Utilize and display posters, videos, and social media resources found on our Resources page to encourage staff to follow these recommendations. 

Prepare for possible increased numbers of employee absences due to illness in employees and their family members, dismissals of early childhood programs and K-12 schools due to high levels of absenteeism or illness:

  • Employers should plan to monitor and respond to absenteeism at the workplace. Implement plans to continue your essential business functions in case you experience higher than usual absenteeism.
  • Cross-train personnel to perform essential functions so that the workplace is able to operate even if key staff members are absent.
  • Assess your essential functions and the reliance that others and the community have on your services or products. Be prepared to change your business practices if needed to maintain critical operations (e.g., identify alternative suppliers, prioritize customers, or temporarily suspend some of your operations if needed).