FORT WORTH, Texas — Running a business during a pandemic comes with both guidance and grey area.
While businesses aren’t required to publicly report cases, it’s a good idea according to Rogge Dunn, a labor and employment attorney who leads the Rogge Dunn Group.
“The question is how safe do you want to be,” Dunn said. “They’re balancing lost business versus getting sued for negligence.”
Dozens of restaurants across D-FW have self-reported publicly, but big box stores like Walmart say they don’t.
Orange Theory Fitness briefly closed its Montgomery Plaza location in Fort Worth recently after a member tested positive.
Michael Piermarini is the chief product officer for Maverick Fitness Holdings, which runs 33 locations of the gym across Dallas-Fort Worth.
“Everyone is timid, and times have change,” he said. “What was standard 90 days ago is no longer a standard."
He says they’re finding out about cases from members and staff and have only gotten one call from the Tarrant County Public Health Department. They’re notifying members and staff when cases pop up.
“From our perspective, every time we get that information, we’re doing what we can with what we have,” Piermarini said.
Businesses don’t have to tell health officials, customers or all employees. Even cleaning is just guidance.
Dunn says not doing taking aggressive action could lead to lawsuits if it’s not considered “reasonable measures."
“What somebody else might think is reasonable varies, so the point is as a business owner, do you want to take your chances,” he said.
For customers, Dunn suggests the best guide is reading recent reviews and checking social media posts.
“Often times, just like your mama told ya [sic], the best protection is yourself,” he said. “Be on guard. Be on notice.”
For businesses, there’s plenty of grey areas between what’s required and what should be done.
“We are evolving,” Piermarini said. “We are learning every single day with everybody else right now.”
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- 'I want to see people wearing masks,' says Dallas mayor in response to COVID-19 cases spike
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