8 common employer myths (and the facts) about dealing with COVID-19

With guidance regularly changing and sometimes seemingly conflicting, some misperceptions about best practices for employers during the COVID-19 pandemic still exist. Here are eight common misunderstandings and the facts employers should know.

8 misconceptions

Face masks or coverings won’t prevent you from getting COVID-19, so there’s no reason to encourage employees to wear them at work. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is now recommending employers encourage workers to wear face masks at work because the coverings are believed to help prevent wearers who have COVID-19 (including those who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic) from spreading infectious respiratory droplets to others. There are exceptions, of course:

• Consider accommodations for workers with medical conditions that would make it unsafe for them to wear face coverings.
• Face coverings may be hazardous to wear in some workplaces. For example, for employees who work with chemicals that could attach to a cloth covering, masks may not be advisable.

While masks aren’t going to work everywhere, a policy requiring employees to wear face coverings is worth considering. Recent news that patrons and employees of a Missouri hair salon weren’t infected with COVID-19 despite the presence of two coronavirus-positive stylists suggests face coverings can be effective. The salon was reportedly requiring staff and patrons to don masks and practice social distancing, which may have prevented patrons and coworkers from becoming infected.