Reopening on Friday? Many Dallas companies plan to keep working in place - The Dallas Morning News

On Friday, Texas is reopening business -- partially, gradually and with much fanfare. But many companies in Dallas-Fort Worth are sticking with the status quo.

They don’t plan to bring back their first wave of employees until the middle of May at the earliest, according to the Dallas Regional Chamber.

The first phase of their return will probably focus on volunteers who are less vulnerable to COVID-19 or have other issues related to the crisis, such as a shortage of child care. A larger “reboarding” of the local workforce won’t begin until early June, as companies work through concerns about the safety and morale of their employees.

“They’re not rushing to get people back to work if they don’t have to,” said Angela Farley, chief financial officer and chief operating officer for the chamber. “They’re trying to be very thoughtful about this.”

On Tuesday, she had a conference call with about 60 human resources leaders from the area, and none planned to change their current approach, she said.

Some members, such as those in construction and other essential businesses, are already operating under the new normal. Others, including big professional service firms, are having many people work from home and will continue in that fashion for a while.

Their No. 1 concern, according to a recent survey of about 100 members of the Dallas chamber, is whether employees are willing and able to stop working from home. That issue ranked higher than changes in consumer purchasing and even fears of staying in business.

“A lot of tactical things have to be decided” about returning, Farley said, such as the new layout of the office, whether the kitchen will be closed, where face masks will be required and how vulnerable workers will be accommodated.

“Folks are gonna use this time to continue to refine that -- and get people psychologically ready,” she said.

She pointed out that these are not necessarily the sentiments of small restaurants and shop owners, which may be desperate to start pulling in some revenue. But for companies that can afford to take time on their return, it makes sense to go slowly.

The virus is still raging, both in the U.S. and North Texas. Reopening too much, too fast could cause a spike in infections and hospitalizations, which would put their workers at risk and undermine the progress that’s been made to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Rules and guidance for how to reopen and operate safely are also changing every few days, and the directives are coming from federal, state and local authorities. More details are certain to follow, said Harry D. Jones, a longtime employment lawyer for Littler Mendelson in Dallas.

“For employers, the main point is: ‘Get yourself ready,’” Jones said.

How will they choose which workers to bring back and when? By what criteria -- job function, their health? How will they be retrained?

Companies also have to deal with the awkward issue of age in the workplace. In Gov. Greg Abbott’s report to open Texas, there’s special guidance for those 65 and over.

Rule No. 1: “Stay home if you can.”

But employers don’t want to create a subclass of older workers or encourage a wave of early retirements, Jones said.

For an early class of returnees, he suggested that companies start by asking for a limited number of volunteers. The field should be winnowed to essential jobs that must be done on-site. Finally, he said, the first group of workers must have “good COVID health,” meaning they’re not at higher risk of hospitalization or death from the virus because of their age or underlying health conditions.

“There has to be an orderly way to return to work that doesn’t maximize the risk for everyone,” Jones said.

One company has begun testing workers before they return to the job site, Farley said, and many others are exploring the option. New federal guidelines allow companies to test workers for COVID-19, she said, but the costs can be $120 or more per employee. The chamber is still researching key details, such as the difficulty in getting the tests and how long it takes to get results.

In the chamber’s survey, almost 8 in 10 respondents said that employees were working from home. By far, that was the most common way of dealing with the labor force during the current crisis, well ahead of furloughs, layoffs and pay cuts.

Companies indicated their No. 1 concern was whether employees would be willing or able to stop working from home. In an online article, Jones wrote that employers should proceed cautiously if they’re considering disciplining or terminating workers who refuse to work due to fears of contracting COVID-19.

“Such refusals may be protected activity under various laws,” he wrote.

Many government agencies have guidance on how to reopen safely during the pandemic, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Denise Macik, a longtime human resources manager, encourages companies to have “an interactive, open-door process” -- similar to how they’d sort out other workplace issues.

If someone doesn’t feel safe about coming to work, she said, ask what can be done to deal with the concerns. Otherwise, “there’s a lot of room for interpretation and miscommunication,” said Macik, client advocate for G&A Partners, a human resources consulting firm in Houston.

Some people may continue to work from home but that won’t fly for all jobs.

“The best advice for employers is to be flexible,” said Tom Reddin, a lawyer for Polsinelli.

When furloughed employees are called back to work, they generally must return or lose their unemployment benefits in Texas. But if they’re vulnerable to COVID-19, they could request "a reasonable accommodation,” such as working from home, he said. How that would be decided is not clear yet.

But if an older worker, say age 65 or 75, wants to return to the job, the employer can’t bar him or her because of the risks of the disease. That would be unlawful, Reddin said.

So what does Gov. Abbott mean by “Stay at home if you can” -- the instructions in his report to open Texas?

“That’s an aspirational message,” Reddin said. “It’s meant more for employees than employers.”

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