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Provide federal funding for separated housing options in hotels for first reposnders if they would like support distancing from household members. Household transmission is common, contamination from viral shedding is difficult to avoid fir those placed in high exposure environs. (PPE is considered a last resort as supply is limited, it's use can be unreliable.) With the virulence of SARS-CoV-2, it is a significant burden... more »

Federal funding Isolation centers like in hotels are needed so people can voluntarily relocate to settings where they can be isolated from their household to limit transmission. Also to support those who are living alone and would like home care monitoring.

The country needs to be careful not to create a socioeconomically disadvantaged class of immunocompromised persons. In general, pre-COVID, such persons were well integrated into the American workforce. Until a vaccine is widely distributed, those most vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 will need to be protected in the workplace or given paid time off until those accommodations are in place or employers won't be motivated... more »

Develop a training and employment grant opportunity to train and employ unemployed, underemployed individuals to close the digital divide across the country. Consider funding the program with Employment and Training Grant Funds to train an internet/broadband infrastructure workforce throughout the country. Allow grant funds to be used for needs related payments and/or stipends during program participation. The program... more »

These suggestions and comments are submitted on behalf of the World Floor Covering Association ("WFCA"), a non-profit business association of flooring retailers, commercial contractors, and installers. WFCA has over 8,300 members, with the vast majority being small businesses.

WFCA appreciates the opportunity to submit suggestions and comments to the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding Opening America's Workplaces Again.... more »

Please defer to the CDC and health experts in re-opening our society. Set partisanship aside and show that we value lives. Centralized responsible leadership based upon our healthcare experts' recommendations should guide our society.

Also, stop encouraging protests of states that are taking this issue seriously to protect their citizens.

Our lives depend upon it.

Establish a mechanism to regulate International Wet Markets- If the global pandemic started in a Wet Market, then we need to work with WHO to address the root cause for the safety of the world. We need to ask the World Health Organization to establish an International Wet Market Safety Taskforce for establishing Global Standards and Regulations for each country with Fish/Wet Markets. We can leverage our expertise from... more »

Creating a task force consisted of individuals who are experts on disinfecting and hand hygiene processes. The practices of hand hygiene that I have been currently observing have been very poor. The task force could go around and teach the practices that need to be followed and provide checklist on the procedure so all businesses have the same process. This will provide uniformity and have et guidance to follow.

Institute full telework option- Companies and Institutions that have telework capacity should offer employees the option for full telework. Providing the option for full telework will allow employees to make the best decision for their and family safety. There is no vaccine at this point. As such, requiring telework capable employees to go into the office increases unnecessary risk. Full telework option for companies/institutions... more »

Does the DOL plan to issue any model return to work plans? There seems to be a lot of uncertainty surrounding what or to what degree employers must prepare in order to provide a safe working environment for employees. Are employers obligated to provide not just disinfectants, but also masks at their workplaces? What if obtaining a consistent supply of masks proves difficult?

What about the screening procedures? Should... more »

Incentivize Self-Selected/ opt In Multimillion Salary CEO Pay cuts- I applaud all the top multimillionaire CEOs who have taken pay cuts to keep staff or have donated their salary to charity. We need more multimillionaire CEOs to do the same. One idea is to explore tax incentives for corporations whose multimillion salary CEOs self select/opt into cutting/donating a portion of their salary to sustaining/supporting their... more »

As many employers share workplaces (for example, two companies may share a floor), some kind of guidance from the DOL on the scope of the employer's obligation to maintain a safe workplace in such cases would be very helpful. In such cases, who has the obligation to keep communal facilities such as restrooms or pantries clean and safe? What recourse does an employer have if a co-tenant employer fails to abide by recommended... more »

The association is pleased to offer the following recommendations for re-opening the country:

• ISEA believes OSHA should make clear for employers the various and appropriate sections of CDC's guidance documents that are appropriate to the reopening of the economy. Small employers do not likely have the time to pore through the numerous CDC guidance documents. In addition, OSHA should point how and where CDC guidance... more »

Small manufacturers with low numbers of employees and isolated sites will have no problems with social distancing and contract tracing. CDC guidelines can easily be maintained. This will also be the same for small service industries.