WA workplace COVID-19 safety guidance for “Personal Services” during the Phase 2 reopening.

Service-driven shops can now reopen for Phase 2, but before that can happen there are a few things that need to be done to get everyone ready for the new way one-on-one services should take place. The Governor’s office has prepared guidelines to preserve employee rights and implement business safety measures to keep everyone safe. Outlining workplace safety guidance, training, and health requirements, these measures are to be implemented by barbers, stylists, beauticians, cosmetologists, and any other personal service workers. 

Below is a summary of key actions and preparations needed before opening. Review the full guidance document here: Personal Service workplace safety guidance.

Safety and Health Requirements 

1. Post signage at the entrance that requires customers to use cloth face coverings
2. Educate personal employee service providers in the language they understand best about coronavirus
3. Maintain a minimum of six feet of separation between personal employee-service providers and clients in all interactions
4. Provide (at no cost to employees) and require the wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, goggles, face shields, and face masks as appropriate 
5. PPE must be worn by every employee not working alone on the job site unless their exposure dictates a higher level of protection

Exceptions:

Exceptions to this requirement for cloth face coverings include:

1. Working alone in an office, vehicle, or at a job site;
2. The individual is deaf or hard of hearing, or is communicating with someone who relies on language cues such as facial markers and expression and mouth movements as a part of communication;
3. The individual has a medical condition or disability that makes wearing a facial covering inappropriate;
4. The job has no in-person interaction. 

Preparing Your Workplace for Clients:

Make sure to post a notice at the front door or window regarding access to the facility for walk-in appointments.

Preparing your site for Employees 

• Ensure there is frequent and adequate handwashing with adequate maintenance of supplies.
• Update the housekeeping schedule to include frequent cleaning and sanitizing with a particular emphasis on commonly touched surfaces. 
• Screen personal employee-service providers for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 at the start of each shift.
• Employees may refuse to perform unsafe work, including hazards created by COVID-19.
• Employees who choose to remove themselves from a location because they do not believe it is safe to work due to the risk of COVID-19 exposure, may have access to certain leave or unemployment benefits.

Preparing your site for off-site services, personal service providers must wear the appropriate PPE and work one-on-one with clients.

Preparing your site as an employer-owner:

1. Keep occupancy at 50% or lower, with the exception of one-to-one service in an enclosed room. 
2. Develop, at each location, a comprehensive COVID-19 exposure control, mitigation, and recovery plan.
3. Provide soap and running water at all business locations for frequent handwashing. (Personal service providers should be encouraged to leave their workstations to wash their hands regularly, before and after going to the bathroom, before and after eating, and after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose.)
4. Post required hygienic practices in areas visible to all workers, which include:

• • Not touching the face with unwashed hands or with gloves;
  • Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
  • Using hand sanitizer with at least 60% ethanol alcohol or 70% isopropanol alcohol;
  • Cleaning and disinfecting frequently-touched objects and surfaces such as workstations, keyboards, telephones, handrails, machines, shared tools, elevator control buttons, doors and doorknobs;
  • Covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, as well as other hygienic recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 

Provide COVID-19 Training 

• Train all on-site personal service providers on the worksite’s policies, COVID-19 appropriate safety-related requirements in this document in the language they understand best. 
• Create a policy that requires personal service providers to stay home or leave the worksite when feeling sick or when they have been in close contact with a confirmed positive case of COVID-19
• Screen all personal service providers at the beginning of their day by asking them if they have a fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, or new loss of taste or smell.
• Instruct service providers to report to their supervisor or employer if they develop symptoms of COVID-19
• If a personal service provider or client reports feeling sick and goes home, the area previously occupied by that person should be disinfected in accordance with CDC and Department of Health guidelines. 

Additional Resources:

• Employers can request COVID-19 prevention advice and help from L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). 
• Employee Workplace safety and health complaints may be submitted to the L&I DOSH Safety Call Center: (1-800-423-7233) or via e-mail to adag235@lni.wa.gov. 
• General questions about how to comply with the agreement practices can be submitted to the state’s Business Response Center. 
• All other violations related to Proclamation 20-25 can be submitted .