Region waits to go into green phase
Businesses keep eye on safety in lead-up to more reopenings
As business owners and officials eagerly await word that Gov. Tom Wolf will move southwestern Pennsylvania counties into the final phase of his reopening plan, the rush is on to be prepared even as angst continues over what the rules will allow and what is the safe way to go forward.
If, as local officials speculate, Allegheny and surrounding counties are included in the next round of reopenings, there will be cheers.
“We no longer have to choose between the economy and health,” said Matt Smith, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, an affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. “We really can and must have both.”
The region has been dealing with restrictions since midMarch, with the state’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 triggering rounds of layoffs and business shutdowns and sending many workers home to work.
A move to the green phase of the Wolf administration’s plan would lift almost all restrictions on business openings, but keep safety measures in place — particularly limits on how many people are allowed in at a time and scheduling appointments rather than impromptu visits.
Hair salons could open to appointments, restaurants could bring back limited indoor dining and companies that sent workers home might start bringing them back in. The majority of businesses will be able to bring up to 75% of their workforce back to the office, up from 50% under the yellow phase, according to business organizations carefully reading the guidelines.
Even in the green phase, the state is strongly encouraging continued telework, and it appears that at least some companies will be taking it slowly.
One of those will be global coatings giant PPG, with about 800 employees at its Downtown headquarters in PPG Place.
Even with a move to green, “This means that in the near term, telework arrangements that PPG has had in place since March will largely remain in place, with the vast majority of employees continuing to work remotely,” spokesman Mark Silvey said.
He said employees who need to return to headquarters will be brought back in through a gradual process. The company will be training employees on new office protocols, as well as implementing precautions that provide for social distancing in common areas, staggered start times and use of face masks.
PNC, one of the region’s biggest employers with 12,000 employees in Allegheny County — the vast majority Downtown — “is making no changes at this time to either our current modified branch operations or our employee work schedules,” spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel said.
“Those employees who have been working from home will continue to do so and those who must be onsite will continue to follow the two-week, split-team rotations currently in place,” she said.
The Jones Lang LaSalle real estate firm, with 610 employees in its Downtown headquarters, has had more than 95% of its staff working from home. Dan Adamski, senior managing director, said the firm is moving toward 20% for phase I in June and then 50% by mid-summer.
Amanda Schaub, executive director of the Building Owners & Managers Association in Pittsburgh, believes some businesses will alternate office days, with some employees coming in one day and others the next. Others may try staggered shifts.
Some landlords are expecting no more than a 30% return, she said, even under a green designation, because of the social distancing needs.
“There’s some uncertainty because it’s always like: Have I done enough?” said Richard Longo, interim director of the Duquesne University School of Business Small Business Development Center.
The state’s guidelines are still subject to change, according to guidance on the governor’s website updated Thursday. A spike in COVID-19 cases could result in new stay-at-home and closure orders, the guidance stated.
Enforcement and moving forward
Enforcement and compliance have been uneven since the beginning, in part because of the confusion over the details and in part because of frustration with the government’s stipulations.
At Candelore’s Barking Beauties, a pet grooming salon with three locations in the Pittsburgh area, the company plans to start accepting appointments around the same time as the new phase, rather than just walk-ins as it had been doing for the past several weeks.
“We have to take care of them,” said Norm Candelore, who co-owns the grooming salon with his daughter.
Barking Beauties reopened in defiance of the state’s business closure orders at the end of April after getting requests from customers who needed help, especially elderly people who considered their pets a part of the family, he said.
According to Mr. Candelore, Barking Beauties never had any trouble with law enforcement or other government officials.
Across Pennsylvania, state police have issued 351 warnings to businesses that violated closure orders since March 23 and three citations. The week of May 18-25, police issued 11 warnings and one citation.
State police have also issued 40 warnings for violations of health and safety measures since April 19, the day that strict requirements for businesses still operating in-person started to be enforced. Police issued zero citations for those measures.
That same guidance is still in place under the green phase, according to Nate Wardle, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Following that order, employees and customers will still be required to wear masks or face coverings while on-site. Businesses must still implement enhanced cleaning measures and promote social distancing, such as using only every other register.
When Mr. Wolf moved more counties to the yellow phase May 15, Barking Beauties and other groomers were officially allowed to reopen. Mr. Candelore said business is up about 40% and the company has started hiring more workers to keep up. Normally, the business would see about 400 dogs a week; now it sees almost 700.
Liability issues
Most business owners are just happy to get the doors open, even if some details still need to be ironed out, said Gordon Denlinger, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business.
But owners are worried about their liability as customers come in and out and workers interact with more people, Mr. Denlinger said.
Even if owners follow guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they could be exposed to a possible lawsuit if somebody contracts the virus, he said. NFIB is urging state and federal governments to pass temporary protections to prevent owners from facing those lawsuits if they follow all proper measures.
Mr. Denlinger said business owners are also weighing the cost of reopening. Will revenue rebound quickly enough that they can cover payroll? Will they be able to cover rent or lease payments? Do they have enough funding to open their doors?
“Many business owners say to us: ‘It’s like when I first opened my business or started it at the very beginning,’” Mr. Denlinger said. “‘I hope that the good or service we provide will be desired or needed but you know it’s a risk.’”