Our Commitment to Employee and Customer Safety Our Commitment to Employee and Customer Safety
This Preparedness and Response Plan has been created by Belle Tire to decrease the risk of contracting and/or spreading COVID-19 during the 2020 pandemic. We intend to take every measure possible to ensure the safety of our employees, their families, our customers and the community. It has been developed following guidelines recommended by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration in their Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 as well as the Center for Disease Control.
Belle Tire has been designated a Critical Infrastructure Business by the federal government, therefore all our employees are Critical Infrastructure Employees. To ensure continuity of operations of essential functions, CDC advises that critical infrastructure employees may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain symptom-free and additional precautions are taken to protect them and the community.
COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines
Employee Health Screening
All employees must self-screen for the following prior to the start of their work shift:
Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath
Sore throat
Diarrhea
Loss of taste or smell
Employees who are experiencing any illness or symptoms of COVID-19 should stay home. See safety guidelines for COVID-19 exposure.
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
ALL employees are required to wear a face mask/face shield and any other required personal protection equipment at all times while in any retail locations.
This includes wearing new gloves, and using floor, seat and steering wheel covers for each vehicle.
Social Distancing
Remaining 6ft apart from other employees and customers at all times.
No physical contact with co-workers or customers. This includes handshaking, hugs, high-fives, elbow bumps, or first bumps. If possible, ask customers to set keys down on counter and then pick them up. This will help avoid touching.
Avoiding sharing tools when possible.
Hygiene
Hand washing frequently for at least 20 seconds using soap.
Utilizing hand sanitizer when soap and water are unavailable.
Avoiding touching faces with unwashed hands.
Disinfecting all work areas after use. This includes tools, machines, and high touch surfaces such as pods, door handles or light switches.
Safety Guidelines for COVID-19 Exposure
Belle Tire has been designated a Critical Infrastructure Business by the federal government, therefore all our employees are Critical Infrastructure Employees. To ensure continuity of operations of essential functions, CDC advises that critical infrastructure employees may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain symptom-free and additional precautions are taken to protect them and the community.
To ensure continuity of operations of essential functions, CDC advises that critical infrastructure employees may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain symptom-free and additional precautions are taken to protect them and the community. Critical infrastructure businesses have an obligation to limit, to the extent possible, the reintegration into the worksite of in-person employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 but remain symptom-free in ways that best protect the health of the employee, their co-employees, and the general public.
Suspected Cases of COVID-19 in the Workplace at Belle Tire
Employees who have symptoms when they arrive at work or become sick during the day should immediately be sent home.
Employees who develop symptoms outside of work should notify their manager and stay home.
Employees are unable to return to work until they are symptom free.
Employees are not required to provide a negative test or doctor’s note
Critical Infrastructure Employees who were exposed and meet the criteria for ‘close contact’ as defined below with someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19, can continue working as long as they remain symptom free, but should self-monitor for symptoms and continue to practice prevention guidelines (see prevention guidelines above). If possible the employee should work remotely.
Non-Critical Infrastructure Employees who were in ‘close contact’ as defined below with someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and do not have symptoms should remain at home and practice social distancing for 14 days since last contact. If possible the employee should work remotely.
Close contact is defined as:
You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes
You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
You had direct physical contact with the person (touched, hugged, or kissed them)
You shared eating or drinking utensils
They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you
Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in the Workplace at Belle Tire
Professional Cleaning and Disinfection of Workplace following CDC guidelines.
Employees who have been exposed but remain symptom-free must adhere to the following practices before and during their work shift:
o Pre-Screen: Employers should measure the employee’s temperature and assess symptoms prior to them starting work. Ideally, temperature checks should happen before the individual enters the facility.
o Regular Monitoring: As long as the employee doesn’t have a temperature or symptoms, they should self-monitor under the supervision of their employer’s occupational health program.
o Wear a Mask: The employee should wear a face mask at all times while in the workplace for 14 days after last exposure. Employers can issue facemasks or can approve employees’ supplied cloth face coverings in the event of shortages.
o Social Distance: The employee should maintain 6 feet and practice social distancing as work duties permit in the workplace.
o Disinfect and Clean work spaces: Clean and disinfect all areas such as offices, bathrooms, common areas, shared electronic equipment routinely.
When an employee who has tested positive for COVID-19 can return to work
Employees who test positive for COVID-19 or who display the principal symptoms of COVID-19 should (apart from seeking medical care) remain in their home or place of residence until:
24 hours have passed since the resolution of fever without the use of fever reducing medications;
10 days have passed since their symptoms first appeared or since they were swabbed for the test that yielded the positive result; and
Other symptoms have improved.
Ensuring Customer Safety
Every door has a sign notifying customers that masks are required in order to enter the building.
Floor signs have been implemented to keep customers at a 6 feet distance from each other.
Chairs in our waiting areas have been removed.
New services are available to customers such as contact-free and stay-in-your vehicle options.
We are entering and handling vehicles with safety preventative measures like using latex gloves, car seat covers, floor mats, steering wheel covers, etc.
We are also using latex gloves when handling, taking or returning keys. Customers are encouraged to call our stores ahead of visiting to reduce wait times, as well as dropping their vehicle off when they can rather than staying with the vehicle. And, in order to promote a safe and healthy experience at Belle Tire, customers are encouraged to visit stores only if they are feeling well.
Every store is focused on cleaning and disinfecting all frequently touched objects and surfaces inside the store.