Stressed restaurant operators
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State and local governments have started to slow or reverse the reopening of businesses as COVID-19 surges in parts of the country. California’s latest move shows how the operating environment has become nearly impossible for restaurants and their workers.
California’s (Re)Closure of Indoor Dining
Closure orders across the nation have delineated restaurant operations by: (1) indoor dining; (2) outdoor dining; and (3) takeout/delivery. The restrictions and safety requirements within these three categories are adjusted frequently, forcing operating model and staffing level changes on a dime.
In mid-June, Governor Newsom kicked it to California counties to make the decision whether to reopen restaurant indoor dining rooms. Now, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Doctor Anthony Fauci, attributes the rush to reopen as one of the reasons that has led to the surge in cases. California — itself the world’s fifth largest economy — has become an epicenter. The state was left with little choice but to take action.
Yesterday, Governor Newsom announced immediate and indefinite certain business closures in most counties throughout California, including indoor restaurant dining. California quickly issued a revised Public Health Order along with corresponding guidance. The “closures shall remain in effect until [Governor Newsom] determines it is appropriate to modify the order based on public health conditions.”
Restaurants will feel the trickle down impact on several fronts.
Navigating Layers Of Safety Compliance
The latest action is another in the ever-changing, complicated, and arguably unrealistic protocols restaurants must follow.
There is no silver-bullet easy out beyond compliance, forcing restaurants to invest time, money and energy into pivoting to outdoor dining or takeout/delivery without any certainty that the rules will not change.
California issued new Guidance for Restaurants Providing Outdoor Dining, Takeout, Drive-Through, and Delivery, and there is likely new guidance to follow at the county levels, meaning the safety protocols for restaurants may be revised for a fifth time in three weeks.
Los Angeles County continues to lead the nation in most confirmed cases, with today as the highest single-day count of COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations since the pandemic hit. Mayor Garcetti warns of another city shutdown if rules like outdoor dining with only members of ones household are not followed. Even now, the city’s Best Practices for Safe Operations is 25+ pages, which restaurants must implement on top of the state’s safety protocols.
Navigating Essential Worker Issues
Restaurants are understandably perplexed when simultaneously faced with COVID-19 related-worker absences and brand new laws that apply. For instance, the EEOC, the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing, and the California Labor Commissioner have each issued COVID-19 employer guidance, including a chart to navigate the new COVID-19 employee paid leaves. A diligent California employer has to check all of these before making the seemingly routine decision of whether an employee gets paid for a missed day of work.
Working for a restaurant means doing so without being able to share in tips, often without having health insurance, and the potential of becoming infected with COVID-19 again after recovery, even though California’s presumption of workers’ compensation coverage ended last week. With reports that the the federal government will not extend past July 31 the $600-a-week federal unemployment insurance benefits, restaurant (and many other American) workers will be faced with an excruciating choice: go back to work in this environment or face overdue bills.
All of this only adds to the difficulties of operating a restaurant during a pandemic.