New York City Dealers Face COVID Enforcement from Multiple Agencies
/GNYADA Confirms - Temperature Checks and Thermometers are NOT Required
The Association has been receiving calls from City dealers regarding compliance with COVID Safety Rules. The Association, working with our New York City counsel, reached out to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and they confirmed that temperature checks and thermometers are not required.
Additionally, we were informed that the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement has recruited agents from multiple city agencies to enforce COVID-19 Safety Plans. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) are not the only agencies inspecting dealers. You may find an agent from Housing Preservation and Development Department at your dealership, this is likely a legitimate audit.
It is important for dealers to train staff about steps to take when an auditor arrives unannounced at the dealership. Dealers should advise staff to take the following steps when a visitor attempts to enter your dealership:
Request the visitor to complete a COVID screening questionnaire prior to entering the dealership. Only allow the person to enter if all of their responses are negative and they are wearing proper face covering. (A sample COVID Screening Questionnaire can be found at GNYADA-COVID19.com)
If the visitor claims they are from a City agency and at your dealership to examine your COVID compliance, your staff member should ask the agent for identification, including the agency. The employee should also politely ask the agent to wait, then bring the identification to a Manager or Dealer Principal who will respond to the inspector’s inquiry.
The Manager/Dealer Principal should make a copy of the identification and then respond ONLY to questions asked by the agent. Only produce documents requested if they are required by the COVID Safety Plan.
If the agent indicates that you are violating the law, ask for written specific information about the violation and section of the law.
City dealers, like others around the state have attested to following the Safety Plan requirements in theInterim Guidance For Vehicle Sales, Leases, And Rentals During The Covid-19 Public Health Emergency, dated July 1, 2020
Dealers Must Continue To:
Review, implement and post your Safety Plan in a conspicuous area,
Complete daily prescreening questionnaire for all employees and visitors before they enter your facility,
Deny access to any employee or visitor that provides a positive answer to any pre-screening question.
Post signage throughout your dealership that promotes stopping the spread,
Enforce 6 feet of separation throughout your facility, including the breakroom and administrative offices,
Provide hand sanitizer and make disposable face coverings available throughout the dealership, and
Regularly clean and disinfect your facility and vehicles.
Access Safety Plan information at gnyada-covid19.com.
If you believe the City agent is demanding compliance with something outside your Safety Plan (i.e., temperature checks, having working thermometers on site), explain that this is not a requirement, and alert GNYADA.
If you have any questions or to let us know that a City inspector has visited your dealership, please call Sue Bieber at 718.746.5900.
