Peak Performance & the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to provide a certification to help employers during the pandemic by providing them with guidelines and best practices they can implement in their businesses to ensure workers are returning to a safe and healthy workplace. By completing the Workplace Infectious Disease Prevention training course, provided by Peak Performance, a business can obtain a Healthy Business Certification through the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.
Kara Hartnett, of the Nashville Post, recently posted her article, Workplace Complaints Double Amid Pandemic, which addresses the enormous amount of complaints received by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development regarding unsafe and dangerous working conditions.
The reports include multiple accounts of a lack of personal protective equipment at health care facilities, of essential businesses not abiding by state and federal guidelines and of employees fearful of losing their jobs if they refuse to work in unsafe conditions. Complaints related to the coronavirus pandemic began rolling into the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration on March 12, the day Gov. Bill Lee declared a state of emergency due to the outbreak. The first complaint reported a lack of personal protective equipment in a health clinic.
From there, hundreds of complaints — from manufacturing plants, health care facilities, corporate offices, construction sites and other workplaces — have filed into the state agency at an unprecedented rate, according to Assistant Administrator Larry Hunt, who has been with the department for more than 20 years. Last week, when most nonessential businesses were able to return to operations at limited capacity, including restaurants, retail stores and gyms, several complaints were submitted by workers afraid of returning to work.
Currently, the 3 hour Workplace Infectious Disease Prevention training course is offered virtually, and includes the development of a customized Infectious Disease Prevention Control Plan which is crucial to demonstrate and document a business's efforts to maintain a healthy and disease free workplace. You can register for any upcoming sessions here or by visiting the Tennessee Chamber Events Calendar.
Peak Performance, along with the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, is committed to helping businesses during this critical time and want to ensure your business is operating a safe and healthy work environment.
Comments