Dane County Order: Employers must post Workplace Requirements

July 1, 2020 | Business | COVID | Current Events | Employment

In response to rising COVID case numbers in and around Madison, Dane County has released new, more restrictive rules to enforce social distancing. Dane County is still in Phase 2, but has made the following changes. The new rule, Dane County Emergency Order #7  (“Order #7) goes into effect on July 2, 2020, at 8am.

Rules for Businesses

• Businesses must place Public Health of Dane County’s “Workplace Requirements for Employers and Workers” in a prominent location where all employees may access and view it. The County noted that these restrictions will be in place for at least one month before the County would move forward with less restrictive conditions.
• Order #7 also changed Order #6 in Section 4(e) in that the “and” in Order #6 was replaced with an “or” in Order #7, so that the new requirement regarding policies is as follows:
  • “Document staff receipt, acknowledgement, or training on the policies in Section 4b-4d.”
    
    

Mass Gatherings

The changes from Dane County Emergency Order #6 (Order #6) include new rules for mass gatherings

• In Order #6, mass gatherings inside commercial facilities could have up to 50 individuals, and mass gatherings inside private property and residences were allowed up to 10 individuals. Outdoor mass gatherings are permitted with up to 100 individuals.
• Per Order #7, all indoor gatherings are limited to 10 individuals, not including employees. All outside gatherings are limited to 25 individuals, not including employees.
• Note that drive-in facilities are exempt from the mass gathering limitations
  
  

Bars and Restaurants

Order #7 also addresses bars and restaurants:

• Order #7 provides definitions for “restaurants” and “bars”. The key difference between a bar and a restaurant is that bars derive 51% or more of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages and “whose primary business is that of a bar”.
• Order #7 limits the dine-in capacity of restaurants to 25% of capacity, down from 50% in Order #6, with tables and chairs spaced to provide 6 feet of distance between customers, and 6 people per table if they are members of the same household. This also applies to grocery stores and bakeries with dining areas.
• In Order #7, bars may not offer indoor seating, dining, or drinking services. Customers may only enter bars for ordering, picking up, and paying for food and beverage to go orders.
• Just as in Order #6, bars and restaurants may continue to offer outdoor seating with tables and chairs spaced to provide 6 feet of distance between customers, and 6 people per table if they are members of the same household.
• Restaurants need to maintain 6 feet between stools for customers that are not members of the same household
  • Note that this requirement isn’t entirely new, but changed. In Order #6, the six feet between each stool was required “at bar areas,” but now it is required “in restaurants.”
    
    

Gyms and Places of Amusement

• Gyms and places of amusement may continue to operate at 50% capacity, except that group exercise activities at gyms must adhere to the mass gathering limits mentioned above.
  
  

Please contact Kramer, Elkins & Watt, LLC with any questions regarding these requirements