COVID-19 Economic Recovery

Community Navigator Program

The Economic Development Department’s Community Navigator Program supports local businesses, non-profit organizations, and creative professionals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Local entities can apply for no-cost assistance from Community Navigators for one-on-one coaching, virtual classes, and applying for government and philanthropic support.

Helping You Recover

Maintaining a Safe Environment  

The Risk-Based Guidelines for Austin-Travis County are not changes to local rules or regulations for businesses; they are guidelines and recommendations for individual actions and behaviors based on levels of risk of exposure in the community. Read isolation and quarantine guidance to protect our community: English Flyer (PDF, 311 KB), Volante en español (PDF, 679 KB). 

Local employers play a significant role in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19. That’s why the City of Austin prepared safety recommendations for local businesses and organizations that prioritize the well-being of employees and customers.

Community organizations and local businesses can register to co-host a mobile vaccine event. Complete the Austin Public Health Mobile Vaccination Request Form to request a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic at your business location.  

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Protecting Your Employees

 

Key Recommendations

• Encourage all employees to become fully vaccinated and grant paid time off for employees to get vaccinated.
• Instruct employees with COVID-19 symptoms or who have contacted someone with COVID-19 symptoms to notify their supervisor and stay home. 

Additional Recommendations

• Frequently disinfect and clean throughout the day, especially high touch areas like door handles, registers, checkout lanes, public restrooms, and employee break rooms. 
• Provide hand sanitizer for employees. 
• Implement social distancing for workers in communal areas.
• Educate and train workers on your COVID-19 policies and procedures using accessible formats and in a language they understand. 
• Improve ventilation systems to reduce the concentration of viral particles in indoor air.
• Communicate to any contractors, delivery services, or other business-related guests about changes that have been made to help control the spread of COVID-19 to ensure they have the information and capability to comply with policies. 
• Allow flexible worksites (e.g., remote working) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts) to reduce the number of employees in the workplace at the same time.  
• Move the electronic payment terminal/credit card reader farther away from cashiers, and allow contactless payment methods or online purchasing. 
• Shift primary stocking activities to off-peak or after hours, when possible, to reduce contact with customers. 
• Encourage all workers to wash their hands for at least twenty seconds before they begin working, after they remove gloves, before and after the use of high touch items, and before and after all meal or restroom breaks.  

Protecting Your Customers and Our Community

 

Key Recommendations

• Provide touchless hand sanitizer stations and no-touch trash cans for customers.
• Post clearly visible signage for your businesses’ mask policy. Face Covering English Flyer (PDF, 108 KB), Volante de mascarillas en español (PDF, 151 KB).
• Frequently disinfect and clean throughout the day, especially high touch areas like door handles, registers, checkout lanes, and public restrooms, dressing rooms.

Additional Recommendations

• Remind guests about social distancing by using signs, floor stickers, and audio messages in multiple languages. 
• Station an employee at public entrances to clean and disinfect public areas and items (e.g., carts, baskets) between each use. 
• Move the electronic payment terminal/credit card reader farther away from cashiers.  
• Provide drive-through services, click-and-collect online shopping, shop-by-phone, curbside pickup, and delivery options where feasible.

Seven Tips to Prepare for Changing Conditions

• Be prepared to change business practices in order to maintain critical operations.  
• Identify alternative suppliers for critical goods and services.  
• Share best practices with other employees in your community.  
• Prioritize job functions to ensure continuous operations.  
• Formalize best practices based on lessons learned since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Ensure redundancy among your employees/workforce in case absenteeism spikes.  
• Deliver services remotely (e.g., web, phone, video).  

Reporting COVID-19 Infections and Deaths

Under mandatory federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules in 29 CFR 1904, employers are responsible for recording work-related cases of COVID-19 illness on OSHA's Form 300 logs if the case is a confirmed case of COVID-19, the case is work-related, and the case involves one or more relevant recording criteria (e.g., medical treatment, days away from work). Visit OSHA’s website for more information.