business

If your business is sued, it could have a devastating impact on your bottom line. Negligence that results in one of your employees or customers contracting the virus could potentially lead to a lawsuit. So, business owners around the country are taking steps to prevent this from happening and lessen the impact of it if it does. Here are five tips to keep in mind during this national crisis:

1. Insuring Your Business Is More Important Than Ever

Due to the fact that the pandemic has led to lawsuits for some business owners, it’s more important than ever to ensure that you have adequate business insurance coverage. This can help to mitigate financial losses if your company is sued. Luckily, there are many options that you can choose from for business insurance, and the amount that you’ll pay each month varies greatly depending on the nature of the services that your company offers.

2. Practice Social Distancing As Much As Possible

Remind employees that it’s important to keep a six foot distance between each other and when interacting with customers. Furthermore, it’s best to have employees work remotely if possible.

If you run a restaurant or another business where multiple customers will be seated within your business location, it’s important to ensure that all seats are placed at least six feet apart. You also may want to consider placing pieces of tape or other markings to indicate a six foot distance for customers who are standing in line.

3. Sanitize Spaces Where Customers Touch Surfaces

Make sure that you regularly sanitize any surfaces that are frequently touched, such as railings, countertops, and door handles. While you are sanitizing surfaces, it’s important to make sure that you use a cleaning product that the CDC has determined is effective against the virus. The CDC talks about the ingredients in cleaning products and hand sanitizer to look for.

4. Check Temperatures At The Workplace

Checking temperatures at the workplace can help to ensure that sick employees do not come in. While not everyone who gets the virus develops a fever, this is one of the most common symptoms of it. Therefore, temperature checks can be somewhat effective at reducing the risk of transmission in the workplace.

It’s best to perform the temperature checks before employees enter the building. Luckily, thermal sensing cameras can detect the temperature of employees from afar, and these cameras can be highly effective at determining if one of your employees has an elevated temperature.

5. Stay Up To Date On The Latest Regulations

The pandemic is an ever-changing situation, and it’s important to make sure that you stay up to date on the changes in business regulations as they happen. This can ensure that your company is not penalized for violating any guidelines, and it can also help to ensure that you will not be sued for failing to take proper precautions. You can find this information on your local government’s website.

Matt Shealy is the President of ChamberofCommerce.com. Chamber specializes in helping small businesses grow their business on the web while facilitating the connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

Hand sanitizer stock photo by Deliris/Shutterstock