Fact-Based COVID-19 Workplace Safety Boundaries Protect Employees’ Health & Safety – Not Opinions

I’ve spent a good chunk of my HR career over the last 30 years or so working in manufacturing and distribution center environments – multiple safety boundaries, including but not limited to OSHA safety requirements, keep us all safe.

Safety boundaries such as the yellow lines delineating where forklift trucks run (and where employees should not walk, lest they put themselves in harm’s way by walking in front of a moving forklift truck) are bright, clear and not subject to interpretation. It doesn’t matter what your opinion or my opinion is of how yellow lines work in this environment: the fact remains that inside the yellow lines, only forklift trucks should run, unless there’s also a yellow line delineating a safe walkway for employees to move across the floor.

The mandatory NYS requirement to wear a mask at all times at work (e.g., you’re required as a customer in retail stores to wear your mask at all times) is not a matter of opinion as to whether you agree with masks, or not – it’s a non-negotiable fact that keeps us all safe, and greatly reduces the chances of you becoming infected with COVID-19 when everyone complies with this important safety rule, and wears their mask.

Universally and for decades, failure to follow workplace safety requirements can result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment; employers who fail to follow workplace safety requirements can face substantial fines, or even the shutdown of their respective businesses. It’s your choice: please choose the workplace facts by consistently practicing COVID-19 safety, while at the same time staying employed, alive and well.