Back on Track
Indiana's Back on Track website (www.backontrack.in.gov/) is a great resource for small businesses as they reopen or prepare to reopen. Business owners must be aware of the regulations and advice from the experts and have policies and procedures in place to protect employees and customers during this pandemic if the owners want to be able to avail themselves of liability protections likely to come from the state or federal governments. Even if those liability protections are not enacted by legislatures, courts will examine the actions employers took during this time period to mitigate the potential spread of the disease at their places of business.
Policies and Procedures - https://www.backontrack.in.gov/industryguidelines.htm
Indiana has posted industry specific policies from Indiana companies as models for other businesses to use as they prepare their own policies and procedures. This is a great resource for smaller businesses or franchisees that have not received guidance from their franchisors. Small business owners are often too busy to develop their plan on their own, so they should use the resources as a starting point to develop their own policies.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The website is supposed to have an active PPE Marketplace with free PPE for businesses with less than 150 employees. It was supposed to be live on May 5th but as of 7:00 a.m. on the 6th the marketplace is not available. Regardless, business owners should regularly check on the marketplace to see if PPE is available. There are also many local companies with PPE available for sale. It is incumbent upon owners to make sure that they provide as safe of a place of employment as possible, and at this point in time that includes likely spending money on PPE.
The (Current) Plan for Getting Back on Track
The Back on Track Site also has the best and most accurate (some people have created their own and have incorrect information) infographic that you can use to communicate with your employees and customers as you prepare them and your business for your reopening. It will also be updated if and when the plans and regulations change, so check back often.
Please contact Craig Fugate at cfugate@fugategangstad.com or 317-796-4322 if you have any questions.