Restaurant workers at MSP pushing for COVID protocols

Workers at several popular eateries in the main terminal of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are calling for uniform COVID-19 workplace standards to ensure they stay safe from the virus' reach.

In a Jan. 4 email to the board overseeing MSP, Blue Door Pub employee Sileckta Saunders said several employees who were coughing and had a fever while at work were told by a manager they could not leave and get tested for COVID until their shifts were over.

When Saunders raised an objection over one such incident, she said, managers downplayed the peril of the virus. They told her the media were overhyping the threat and that some cases thought to be COVID may have just been the flu.

She also alleged that employees who had COVID were given conflicting information about when they could return to work.

"I am appalled by all of this and hope something is done about it," she wrote.

Saunders and two colleagues expressed their concerns before a Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) meeting last month, saying concessions run by Areas USA Inc. had "inconsistent interpretation of [COVID] protocols."

Miami-based Areas, a provider of food, beverage and retail services in airports across the country, operates Peoples Organic, Panda Express and Hi-Lo Diner in Terminal 1. In a statement, the company said that the issues brought forth by MSP employees were the "only instance when such concerns have been raised."

The company added: "The health and safety of our associates and those we serve in our restaurants at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is of utmost importance to our company, especially to our management team."

Confusion over COVID protocols between employers and workers nearly two years into the pandemic comes as no surprise to Daniel Forbes, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.

"If you want to keep employees, you have to be attentive to safety and health with clarity and communication," Forbes said. But communication can get muddled as it trickles down to workers on the floor, he said.

The situation at MSP takes on a certain urgency, Forbes said, because "many restaurant workers are in such public-facing roles, they could be exposed to someone, but then they could also be the source of transmission."

Following last month's meeting, MAC officials emailed all food and beverage operators at the airport with links to the latest COVID guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as the Minnesota Department of Health. A meeting was held with Areas officials as well.

"We do all we can to ensure and promote a safe environment for our employees, and employees working at the airport and the flying public," said MAC Chair Rick King.

But even among commission members there was subtle disagreement at the Jan. 18 meeting about the clarity of federal and state COVID mandates. The discussion came after passenger numbers at MSP surged last year following a precipitous decline in air travel during the throes of the outbreak.

Even as more people return to the skies, COVID continues to negatively affect concessions at MSP. As of December, 83% were open at least part-time, but none have returned to 100% pre-COVID hours, according to the MAC.

MAC Commissioner Timothy Baylor, a former real estate representative for McDonald's Corp., said federal and state COVID guidance is a "moving target. ... It seems to change weekly."

Commissioner Richard Ginsberg responded that employers should take care to understand COVID policies and do whatever is necessary to ensure employees feel safe. "It can be a little confusing," he said, with employers learning every day.

But Commissioner Dixie Hoard, a retired Delta Air Lines flight attendant, rejected employers' claims that COVID guidelines are too confusing.

"I don't think the CDC has ever said, 'Come to work with a scratchy throat and get tested later because we really need you to work today,'" she said.

It's even more challenging, Forbes said, because many businesses are having a hard time finding employees during a historic job shortage, putting "pressure on employers to use whoever might be available."

The Great Resignation also factors in, as employees leave the workplace in droves; some 4.3 million Americans quit or left their jobs in December alone. Job retention is especially challenging at the airport given that many employees work in secure areas, adding time and hassles to their commute.

"There's the risk that an employee will simply leave, either for higher pay or terms in the workplace they're more comfortable with," Forbes said. With COVID, those terms may be the health and safety protections provided by the employer — a new wrinkle in the workplace compact.

In its statement, Areas said it is "reemphasizing" COVID procedures with managers and supervisors. The company said it conducts daily health screenings and temperature checks for employees, and offers 40 hours of paid time off for virus-related illness. "Any employee experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 should not be in their workplace," the statement said.

Areas is currently engaged in labor negotiations with unionized MSP employees.