In the greater Philadelphia area, the small and mid-sized business landscape is enormous. In fact, estimates ranged from 23,000 to 28,000 operating establishments just before the pandemic triggered the economic downturn. A small or mid-sized business is generally defined as employers with one to 499 employees and less than $50million in annual gross sales.

While it’s impossible to create one set of safety standards that apply to our diverse ecosystem of businesses, there are some fundamental precautions that every white, blue and multi-collared employee should observe. These staples help to create a roadmap for business owners and managers to determine the risks facing their workers and customers every day.

And then there’s COVID-19 — and the unique set of challenges confronting both employers and employees as they return to the workplace. Let’s examine that first...