‘Self-compliance expectation’
Baker, Polito pushing a ‘shared goal’ of safety, community enforcement
Workplaces are going to look very different as they reopen over the next few weeks, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday as he and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito made clear they hope to rely on self-enforcement of the state’s new health and social distancing standards for businesses.
“We want people to do whatever they’re most comfortable with,” Baker said in a press conference Wednesday, adding, “Our shared goal is the safety of the employees and the workers throughout the commonwealth.”
A slew of businesses are expected to come back online next week as the state moves through the first phase of reopening, including hair salons and barber shops, labs, offices, with limited capacity, and curbside pickup for retail.
Mayor Martin Walsh said Tuesday he was “not comfortable” with 25% capacity for Boston offices, which won’t reopen until June 1.
Baker — after noting Walsh’s chief of staff was on the state’s reopening committee — said municipalities could set a lower capacity.
“We expect some communities will go up to 25%,” on May 25, Baker said, adding that Boston officials will have to decide “whether they want to go up to 25% … or up to some other number.”
Baker said Wednesday that no business is required to reopen at the start of its designated phase. But those that do will have to adhere to strict guidelines on social distancing, hygiene, staffing and cleaning.
And it appears the responsibility for enforcing those requirements will largely fall to individual employers and employees.
“It’s really important to have a self-compliance expectation process so a business knows that they have to be compliant,” Polito said.
Workers who feel unsafe can contact their local board of health, which will work with the Department of Labor Services and the Department of Public Health on enforcement that begins with a verbal consultation, then a written warning, fines of up to $300 and finally a cease and desist letter.
“Our goal with enforcement is to educate and promote compliance,” Polito said.
Baker and Polito held up Symmons Industries in Braintree, a plumbing fixture manufacturer that pivoted to producing personal protective equipment during the pandemic, as an example of a business following the new workplace safety standards. They toured the facility Wednesday, which now has temperature checks, frequent sanitizing of workstations and staggered lunch breaks.
Moving forward with reopening will depend on continued downward trends in coronavirus data. Baker called the continued decline in the positive test rate — 10% or less for about a week — a “promising trend.”
But with a “fair number of people” still in intensive care units and hospitals, Baker said, “We believe moving forward on a cautious, careful basis is really the only way.”