Pandemic Operations Plan
The Allegany Public Library has adopted this Pandemic Operations Plan in compliance with New York State Labor Law §27-c to implement operational plans in the event of certain declared public health emergencies including, but not limited to, novel coronavirus (COVID-19) or other communicable disease or pandemic illness. This plan includes the identification of essential positions, facilitation of remote work for non-essential positions, provision of personal protective equipment, and protocols for supporting contact tracing.
Upon the determination of implementing this plan, all Allegany Public Library employees, contractors and trustees shall be notified by email and provided with available and necessary details. Additional information and updates will be provided on a regular basis. Upon resolution of the public health emergency, Director, their designee, or their successor will direct the resumption of normal operations or operations with modifications as necessary.
Definitions
The following terms are hereby defined for the purposes of this policy:
● Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): all equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards, including gloves, masks, face shields, foot and eye protection, protective hearing devices, respirators, hard hats, and disposable gowns and aprons.
● Employee: Any person employed by Allegany Public Library regardless of job classification or title.
● Contractor: Any individual performing paid services for Allegany Public Library but not an employee of Allegany Public Library.
● Essential: Designation made to an employee, or a contractor, whose duties require them to be physically present at Allegany Public Library to perform their job, OR tasks that are vital or necessary to the safety or operational needs of Allegany Public Library.
● Non-essential: Designation made to an employee whose duties do not require them to be physically present at Allegany Public Library, OR tasks that are not vital or necessary to the safety or operational needs of the library.
● Communicable disease: Illness caused by an infectious agent or its toxins that occurs through the direct or indirect transmission of the infectious agent or its products from an infected individual or via an animal, vector or the inanimate environment to a susceptible animal or human host.
● Retaliatory Action: The discharge, suspension, demotion, penalization, discrimination, or other adverse employment action taken against any employee.
Essential Positions
● In an event that triggers the use of the Pandemic Operations Plan, Director and Business Manager will be designated as essential employees and will be permitted to enter Allegany Public Library and perform essential tasks to include: maintenance to prevent potential harm of the facility; processing payroll, invoices, and payments; receiving, sorting, and opening mail and packages. The director may delegate these tasks to an employee who will enter the Allegany Public Library for the sole purpose of completing the assigned essential tasks.
Essential functions are those functions that enable an organization to:
1. Maintain the safety of employees, contractors, and our constituency
2. Provide vital services
3. Provide services required by law
4. Sustain quality operations
5. Uphold the core values of Allegany Public Library
Remote Work Protocol
• The Director will be permitted to work from home according to the nature of their work.
• Necessary supplies and equipment will be provided to staff to facilitate remote work.
• If a shutdown order is issued during the regular work day, non-essential employees will be asked to gather items necessary to work remotely prior to leaving the building.
• If a shutdown order is issued outside of the regular work day, non-essential employees will be contacted by Director to schedule a time to pick up items necessary to facilitate remote work. Pick up times will be scheduled to allow one employee to enter the Allegany Public Library at a time.
• Essential employees will be allowed in the office at the same time with the understanding that a six-foot distance must be kept at all times.
PPE Protocol
• Masks: Allegany Public Library will maintain a supply of masks that will provide a minimum of two per employee.
o Masks may be reusable or disposable.
o Employees will be responsible for the laundering of reusable masks.
o Reusable masks are not transferrable between employees.
• Gloves: Allegany Public Library will maintain a supply of gloves that will provide for a minimum of two pairs per employee.
• All employees will be aware of the storage location of PPE.
• Supply levels will be monitored by the Director and PPE will be restocked regularly to prevent a lack of PPE. Vendors may include:
o Eaton Office Supply http://www.eatonofficesupply.com/
o Jamestown Soap and Solvent https://www.jamestownsoap.com/
o Dobmeier Janitorial https://www.dobmeierjanitorialsupplies.com/Janitorial-Catalog-O/
o Chautauqua County Health Department https://chqgov.com/public-health/public-health
o Cattaraugus County Health Department https://www.cattco.org/health
o https://www.amazon.com/
o Global Industrial Supply – https://www.globalindustrial.com/
o W.B. Mason – https://wbmason.com/
• Employees may elect to provide their own PPE if it is in compliance with all local, state, or federal laws or Executive Orders and CDC and OSHA regulations.
Employee Exposure to Disease Protocol
Terms Defined:
Close Contact: being within 6 ft. of a person displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or someone who has tested positive for a cumulative total of fifteen minutes or more during a 24-hour period. This cumulative fifteen-minute total can include three 5-minute exposures, fifteen 1-minute exposures, etc.
Proximate Contact: being in the same enclosed environment (such as a classroom, office, or gathering) but greater than 6 ft. from a person displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or someone who has tested positive. If you are nearer than 6 ft., it is for a cumulative total of fewer than 15-minutes during a 24-hour period.
Important Notes:
The creation of this policy was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and references COVID-19 specifically. These guidelines may be used for other communicable diseases or pandemic illnesses.
The length of quarantine for COVID-19 is 10 days. Other communicable diseases or pandemic illnesses may have different quarantine requirements. This policy will be adjusted to be in accordance with local, state, and federal guidelines.
Basic Steps for Addressing Employee who tests positive for COVID-19:
Step #1: The employee who tests positive must quarantine at home. They will be eligible to return to work after being in isolation for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms or 10 days after the first positive test if they remain asymptomatic.
Step #2: Determine if the area where the employee has been can be quarantined while Allegany Public Library remains open or if it is necessary for Allegany Public Library to close at least temporarily.
Step #3: If it is deemed necessary to close, determine how long Allegany Public Library will remain closed.
Step #4: Determine which employees were in Proximate or Close Contact with the employee testing positive for COVID-19. Refer to the steps below to address employees with Proximate or Close Contact.
Step #5: Clean the building or affected areas according to NYS DOH and CDC guidance.
NYS DOH Guidance: Interim Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfection of Public and Private Facilities for COVID-19
CDC Guidance: Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility
Basic Steps for Addressing Exposure – Employees who develop symptoms of COVID-19 while at work
Any employee who develops symptoms of COVID-19 while at work will be immediately separated from other people. They will be sent home with a recommendation to contact their physician. The steps for
Basic Steps for Addressing Employee who tests positive for COVID-19 should be followed unless or until the employee receives a negative COVID-19 test.
Basic Steps for Addressing Exposure – Close Contact with someone who displayed symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19:
Step #1: Ask employee to get tested and stay home for a 10-day quarantine period starting from the last date of exposure.
Step #2: Wait until the end of the 10-day quarantine period. After the quarantine period ends, allow employee to return to work if test results are negative. If test results are positive, continue to quarantine until a negative test result is received.
Basic Steps for Addressing Exposure – Proximate Contact with someone who displayed symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19:
Step #1: Ask employee to stay home, quarantine for 10-days, and monitor symptoms, or get tested and stay home until test results are received.
Step #2: Check-in with employee throughout 10-day quarantine to assess symptoms/learn test results.
Step #3: Allow employee to return to work if no symptoms or other irregular health conditions were observed during 10-day quarantine or if test results are negative.
Basic Steps for Addressing Exposure – Contact of a Contact (Secondary Contact) – Employee reports contact with a Proximate or Close Contact of a Case.
An employee does not need to quarantine or get tested if they report they have come in contact with someone who has had Proximate or Close Contact. Employers may take extra precautions to ask the employee to self-quarantine for a few days until additional information is revealed (such as a test result for the Proximate or Close Contact), but that is at the discretion of the employer.
Essential Employees
CDC guidelines for COVID-19 provide that critical essential employees may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure, provided they remain symptom-free and additional precautions are taken to protect them, other employees and contractors, and our constituency/public.
• Additional precautions will include the requirement of the employee, as well as others working in their proximity, to wear appropriate PPE at all times to limit the potential of transmission.
• In-person interactions with the employee will be limited as much as possible
• Social distancing measures will be strictly followed.
• Work areas in which the employee are present will be disinfected according to current CDC/public health protocol as practical.
Informing Others and Contact Tracing:
Director will adhere to local and state guidance regarding Contact Tracing which may include reporting or contacting other employees, contractors, visitors, and patrons who voluntarily supplied their information for the purpose of Contact Tracing who may have been in close contact with the employee suspected or confirmed to have the communicable disease.
If the exposed employee (Close Contact) tests positive for COVID-19, employers must inform other library staff who had Proximate or Close Contact as soon as possible, and follow the same Basic Steps for Addressing Exposure for each exposed employee.
Employers do not need to inform the local health department or others of Proximate or Close Contact exposures so long as the employee (Contact of a Case) is cleared to return to work.
Allegany Public Library will not take any retaliatory action against employees not reporting to work due to a suspected or confirmed case of the communicable disease. Employees must follow the established protocols outlined in the Personnel Policy Manual for reporting an absence.
Documenting hours and work locations for essential workers
• Essential employees will track their hours worked using the standard timesheet.
• If the essential employee is able to work remotely, they will note their work location on their timesheet.
Housing for Essential Employees
This is not applicable to employees of Allegany Public Library.
Resumption of operations with modifications as necessary
• All applicable local, state, and federal guidelines will be followed to ensure health and safety.
• Specific operational plans will be made for the resumption of operations based on the current situation.
3-15-2021