at Salm Partners
The safety of our partners is our primary concern, followed by maintaining the food supply to our nation. We took aggressive and immediate measures to protect each partner and maintain the safety of our facility in the face of a pandemic.
Salm Partners has run one of the most extensive, full company COVID-19 testing plans in the country. This has been extremely effective in keeping our partners safe and providing them peace-of-mind. As of June, we have gone through three rounds of full company testing provided for free to all of our partners.
Face masks are standard equipment for every partner and social distance is created in our hallways, break rooms, and production areas. Where social distancing is not possible on our production lines, we have installed physical barriers to ensure worker safety. We have staggered breaks, limited congregation points within the plant, and increased sanitation and cleaning in our common areas.
Before starting each shift, every partner is given a daily health screening consisting of health questions and temperature checks using an infrared camera. All partners are asked to remain 6-feet apart and if they report any symptoms, or contact with someone with symptoms, they are sent home with pay.
Q: Did the county or state require you to test all employees?
A: No. Many individuals may not realize they are carrying COVID-19 because they don’t show any symptoms, and we felt if we could provide free testing, we could identify those individuals. This would help our partners protect themselves, their families, our customers, and the nation’s food supply.
Q: Why are you testing employees when other manufacturers are not?
A: We are under no requirement to follow this path. As an employer and producer of food for our customers and community, we feel it is the prudent path to take. We do not consider this a matter of politics but one of good public health. We care deeply about the well-being and safety of our partners, our customers, and community and that is the catalyst behind our decision.
Q: What happens if an employees tests positive for the coronavirus?
A: As with anyone else who tests positive for the virus, that individual will be connected to health care professionals and then quarantined for the period required by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and our local public health authorities. At Salm Partners, we have added up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to encourage partners to stay home if they feel sick. Additionally, we have adjusted our attendance policy to ensure partners stay home if they feel ill.