Health and Safety Policies

Last updated May 24, 2022

OUR COMMITMENT

Ashland Works is committed to ensuring the health and safety of members and visitors. This policy sets out the steps we are taking as a community to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and all communicable illness. It outlines the expectations for members and staff to keep the space as safe as possible. These policies were developed to be in compliance with recommendations from the CDC, WHO, and local and state governmental guidelines.

For the safety of everyone in our community, these policies must be followed by members and guests at all times. Non-compliance with health and safety measures will be considered a violation of your member agreement and your membership may be canceled.

In addition to our enforced policies, we recommend all vaccinated community members follow the CDC’s guidance for vaccinated people and unvaccinated community members follow the CDC's guidance for unvaccinated people.

Vaccination is the leading prevention strategy to protect individuals from COVID-19 and end the COVID-19 pandemic. Current COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States are safe and effective, widely accessible in the United States, and available at no cost to all people living in the United States. Learn more from the CDC's Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine.

At this time, we will not be verifying vaccination status or requiring distancing between people in the space. Each community member and visitor has an individual responsibility to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Health & Safety Policies:  

• Be radically honest with yourself about your symptoms. Do not come to work sick. If you are exhibiting symptoms you will be asked to leave.

  • Fever (take your temperature at home)

  • Cough

  • Shortness of breath

  • Sore throat

  • Congestion

  • Body aches

  • Gastro-intestinal troubles

• Do not come to work if you have come in contact with someone with COVID-19 and are not vaccinated.

• Reduce contact with surfaces as much as possible. Use foot pulls to open doors where available, use pastry sheets in the kitchen to touch dishes, appliances, etc. 

• It is highly recommended to wear a mask or washable face covering if you are unvaccinated or immunocompromised and when community spread is high. Additional masking requirements will follow local guidance and regulations. Please watch for signage and updates posted in the space. 

• Immediately sanitize your hands when entering the space and throughout your workday. Handwashing is preferable to hand sanitizer. Wash your hands when you are likely to encounter and spread germs:

  • when you move workstations

  • before getting coffee

  • after putting dishes in the drop zone

  • before going into the kitchen

  • before eating

  • before, during, and after food prep

  • after using the restroom

  • after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

• Practice good respiratory hygiene. Cover coughs and sneezes and immediately wash or sanitize your hands. After using facial tissue, dispose of it immediately in the nearest covered trash bin.

COVID Considerations in the Workspace:

• Air purifiers located throughout the workspace will remove 99.97% of fine particles. In a room that's roughly 200 square feet the air can be purified up to 12 times per hour. Please ask for assistance if you’d like an air purifier moved closer to your workstation.

• Trash cans are hands-free and foot-activated. They are distributed throughout the space. Please use the trash can closest to you for personal trash (used tissues, etc).

• Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout all buildings.. These are motion-detected and hands-free.

• Follow the one-way and two-way paths marked on the floor where applicable. This is to control congestion and ensure social distancing within the space.

• All dishes will be self-serve in the drawers. The dishwasher is off-limits (staff only). 

• Pastry sheets are available to reduce contact in the kitchen. Wash your hands immediately upon entering the kitchen area. Otherwise, use pastry sheets to open and close drawers and cabinets, and to pick up dishes and utensils.

• Clear partitions in flexible seating zones and conference rooms are available for added safety. Move portable partitions where you need them to create a barrier between workspaces, if desired.

• Conference rooms will be sanitized and aired out between all bookings. Conference room reservation settings will enforce down time between bookings.

• Conference room presentation materials can be checked out from the front desk.

• Continued cleaning and sanitizing measures.

• If we find high demand/high occupancy we may implement a reservation system for visitors.

• Masks are available at the front desk.

• You’re responsible for ensuring your visitors abide by all health and safety policies.

Staff Policy:

• Employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

• Employees are required to wear a mask or face covering in the space.

• Employees can remove masks when they are seated and in a private room alone or at least 6 feet away from others.

• Employees are provided paid time off to use for illness and quarantine. Additional unpaid time off will be granted without penalty when needed for extended recovery for the employee or immediate family.

• All other policies in this document apply to staff including quarantine requirements. 

• All employees are expected to notify the owner in the event that they test positive for COVID-19 or they become aware that another individual who has been present in the worksite has been confirmed as having COVID-19, even if they are vaccinated. 

  • Based on a reasonable assessment of the activity of the individual with confirmed COVID-19, we will seek to identify each employee who was likely to have been within 6 feet of the infected individual for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more. Those employees will be notified individually of the exposure and will be advised that they should get tested. The individual who was the source of the exposure will not be identified.

  • In addition, the “planned response” section in this document will be followed to notify all employees and members, even if they did not appear to have close contact with the individual in question.

Our Planned Response to a Positive Covid Case:

• If you contract COVID-19, please notify staff at the earliest opportunity and follow the Jackson County guidelines for isolation.

• If you are unvaccinated and have been directly exposed to COVID-19, please notify staff immediately and follow the Jackson County guidelines for isolation.

• We will cooperate with Jackson County Health & Human Services to aid in contact tracing and mitigating the spread.

• We will close for 24 hours for cleaning and ventilation if we identify a recent active COVID-19 case in our community. Confirmed cases that were present more than 2 days prior to symptom-onset are not considered recent.

• Anyone positive or with a presumptive case cannot return to the building and must isolate for five days from symptom-onset AND be symptom-free for 24 hours before ending isolation and returning to work. A well-fitting mask must be worn for an additional 5 days after the isolation ends. In the event that the individual does not get tested, the case is presumptive, and the employee must quarantine for 14 days or until symptom-free for 7 days, whichever is later.

• If there is a known case in our community, members who have been exposed will be contacted.

• If you learn of direct exposure to an individual who has tested positive, you must begin quarantine regardless of vaccination status. Length of quarantine or isolation is determined by the following criteria:

  • If you believe you have been exposed to a presumptive case, but it is not yet confirmed, you must immediately quarantine regardless of vaccination status. Quarantine can end immediately if the direct contact tests negative.

  • If you are fully vaccinated:

    • And displaying symptoms, then you must test immediately.

      • Negative test result: If you have stopped displaying symptoms for at least 24 hours AND have a negative test result then you can end quarantine and can return to the space..

      • Positive test result: See positive case directives above.

    • And not displaying symptoms, you should be tested 5 days following the date of exposure.

      • Negative test result: You can end quarantine and return to the space.

      • Positive test result: See positive case directives above.

• Policies are non-negotiable and there are no exceptions. Proof of a COVID-19 vaccination and/or antibodies are not grounds for exclusions or exceptions except where noted.

• Should these policies be in conflict with CDC or OHA guidance and/or state mandates then the stricter policy will be enforced.
  

Contact us with questions.