Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Building Contractors Association host virtual forum on Covid protocols
Since the onset of the coronavirus in early 2020, construction crews continued to work on infrastructure and real estate projects. Deemed as “essential,” the industry quickly adapted with new protocols that kept jobsite infection rates considerably below those of the general population. Now, amid warnings of a more contagious variant spreading in the U.S., contractors are doubling down on efforts.
More than 40 contracting executives from the Hudson Valley participated in a virtual event Feb. 11 titled “Covid-19 The Jobsite: Past, Present and Future,” presented by the Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Inc., and the Building Contractors Association of Westchester & the Mid-Hudson Region, Inc.
HR Technology News: Google Workspace Announces Innovations To Enhance Collaboration Equity In Hybrid Future Of Work
“The safety of the men and women working on these vital jobsites, and the safety of the public, is our number-one priority,” said John Cooney, Jr., executive director of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) of Westchester & Hudson Valley, a leading business trade organization.
Cooney hosted the event with Matt Pepe, executive director of the Building Contractors Association of Westchester & the Mid-Hudson Region, Inc. The program featured attorney Thomas Tripodianos and Dr. Jeffrey Altholz, who provided updates on New York State Covid-19 jobsite safety protocols, paid-leave laws, and daily screening and testing procedures.
“The law is actually pretty far behind the science that involves Covid,” said Tripodianos, a partner in the firm Welby, Brady & Greenblatt, LLP of White Plains, N.Y. “The best practical advice I can give you, if not legal advice, is be thoughtful, be informed and if you act within those parameters you are showing (state and federal regulators) ‘I was doing the best I could under the circumstances.'”
HR Technology News: Citrix Completes Acquisition Of Wrike
Tripodianos also advised owners and managers to provide incentives for workers to get vaccinated as a means to facilitate a safer work environment.
Dr. Altholz, CEO and Medical Director of Clarity Testing Services, Inc. of Tarrytown, N.Y., shared sobering data: At least 40 percent of individuals spreading the virus are asymptomatic. “Essentially, nearly half of the pandemic is being driven by people who look and feel perfectly well,” Dr. Altholz said.
Noting that as of Feb. 10, only 10 percent of New York residents had the first shot and 3 percent had been fully vaccinated, Dr. Altholz said, “It is clear we have a lot of work yet to do.”
HR Technology News: Ceridian Completes Acquisition Of Ascender