New worry for dealers: Employees' virus fears

With his father at home undergoing chemotherapy and customers coming in unmasked, Geri Lynn Nissan employee Christopher Crawford said he felt uncomfortable selling cars during the coronavirus pandemic.

So in April, Crawford approached the Houma, La., dealership's general manager about his concerns and asked to go home without pay. What unfolded from there resulted in Crawford losing his job, a social media storm and an online backlash against Geri Lynn Nissan and its owner.

At the center of the turmoil was a document Crawford said he was asked by dealership managers to sign. Along with changes in employment terms, the form included a line employees had to initial that read: "I work at my own risk. I realize I may become ill with COVID-19 (coronavirus) or any other illness." Crawford didn't sign the form.

The form didn't come up during his dismissal, he said. He was just told the dealership had to lay him off.

"I sat on it for a couple days, and it just, it ate me up," Crawford told Automotive News. "I kept looking at the note and talking to a couple people. And on the way out, I [said], if I have to be the one to say something about it ... I will."

Thousands of people across Facebook and other social media sites such as Twitter and Reddit heard what Crawford had to say after his April 17 Facebook post went viral.

Dealership owner Geri Lynn scrambled to react, and the subsequent back-and-forth between Crawford and his supporters and Geri Lynn Nissan supporters turned ugly fast.

The episode is a lesson about what can be at stake for dealers as they navigate how to manage employees during a dangerous and unprecedented disease outbreak.

Crawford's concerns about working closely with others in the time of the coronavirus aren't unique. As cases and deaths have spread across the U.S., several dealership employees have reached out to Automotive News and other media or shared on social media their fears about getting sick or bringing the virus home to their families.

Crawford, who'd worked as a sales consultant at Geri Lynn Nissan, said employees wore masks and were social distancing in early April after the store reopened following a two-week break. But that changed when the store got busy.

"Everybody was near each other. There's no way you can get away from anybody," said Crawford, 34. "I literally sat at my desk, and I just, I started kind of crying."

Crawford said when he told the general manager he wanted an unpaid leave — essentially a furlough — he was assured he would not be laid off. But, he maintains, that's what happened.

Lynn, owner of Geri Lynn Nissan, said she could not comment on employee matters and that the dealership does not have a furlough policy. She said she doesn't believe Louisiana unemployment officials recognize the practice.

"In this crisis, if an employee chooses to stay at home, he/she is welcome to do so," Lynn wrote in an email to Automotive News. "But in order for the employee to be able to collect unemployment benefits, he/she must be formally laid off."

The dealership has not and would not challenge any employee's decision to stay at home or to get unemployment benefits under such circumstances, she said.

Negative reviews related to the online tempest temporarily lowered the dealership's average Google review before they were removed. Geri Lynn Nissan's Yelp rating was 1 star on May 8 with 34 reviews, with the majority mentioning the episode.

Crawford's post was shared 1,200 times and garnered 1,300 comments on his Facebook page. It collected thousands more shares and comments in other groups and on pages where it was posted. Some posted angry comments on Geri Lynn Nissan's Facebook page.

Numerous posts tagged Nissan. The automaker responded on social media, saying it had informed dealership management of the comments "so that they may handle them accordingly."

"Nissan dealerships are independently owned and operated," Nissan North America said in a statement to Automotive News. "However, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, we work daily with each dealer to understand their situation and what support they need to maintain their business and support current and future Nissan owners."

On April 19, Lynn appeared to write on her personal Facebook page that she needed to respond "based on the negative posts concerning Geri Lynn Nissan."

In part, she wrote, "I APOLOGIZE to any employee who thinks I puposefully (sic) hurt them. My team is my business and means the world to me."

The page is no longer available, and Lynn didn't respond to questions about it. A response also was posted to the dealership's Facebook page April 19.

"We are a small family business and we are working hard to survive" Lynn wrote to Automotive News. "We continue to support our team, their families and our customers throughout this unprecedented time. It is truly unfortunate that our efforts have been clearly twisted and attacked."

In a social media uproar, crisis communications expert Thom Fladung, a managing partner at Hennes Communications in Cleveland, recommends businesses be transparent, apologize when appropriate and reach out directly to the employee to talk about the issue and what both sides can do to make it right.

"You certainly don't try to get in a flame war on social media," he said.

Fladung also advises clients to talk with other employees who have seen the posts, acknowledge mistakes, explain how the business intends to fix issues and take their questions. Businesses also should provide a statement to customers and post it on the company's website, he said.

Beyond the social media outcry, the episode brings up questions about what an employer can and can't do in such situations. Employee fears may not meet a legal threshold, dealership lawyers told Automotive News.

"Generally speaking, employees are only entitled to refuse to work if they believe they are in imminent danger," said Matt Simpson, a partner in Fisher Phillips law firm and co-chairman of its dealership practice group in Atlanta. "And even in the pandemic, most dealership work conditions are not going to meet the elements of imminent danger."

Most dealers, Simpson said, are making efforts to maintain a clean workplace, monitoring employee health, disinfecting work areas and observing social distancing. Simpson and other lawyers said many are being flexible and allowing employee leaves, dependent on their situation.

Several dealership lawyers told Automotive News they had not seen an employment modification letter like Geri Lynn Nissan's, but some indicated dealership clients have modified pay plans during the pandemic.

Vicki Crochet, a partner in the Taylor Porter law firm in Baton Rouge, La., overseeing the firm's employment, labor and benefits practice group, said employment in Louisiana is at-will.

"Unless there is a contract for a definite term, the employer has a lot of freedom in terms of changing the terms of employment," she said.

Crochet said if an employee were to get sick with COVID-19, it would be hard to prove it was an employer's fault.

"Another question is, 'I'm scared to come to work and can my employer fire me?' " she said. "And the answer to that [in Louisiana] is probably yes."

There may, however, be limitations on firing someone with underlying health conditions and deemed to have a disability, Crochet said.

Other dealership employees have shared concerns about exposure to COVID-19.

In early March, a supposed employee at Toyota of Kirkland in Washington posted on Reddit that the dealership remained open after a co-worker was diagnosed with the virus. The dealership notified employees and customers and shut down the store temporarily for a deep cleaning.

Two employees at a Michigan dealership spoke to Automotive News about worries they had in March working in the store alongside co-workers they believed were sick. The employees said they initially were not provided personal protective gear and that the store was not thoroughly sanitized. The employees, who asked not to be named over concerns they may lose their jobs, said they temporarily took unpaid leaves of absence because of their fear of contracting the virus.

Lynn told Automotive News that Geri Lynn Nissan is taking significant steps to continually clean and sterilize and is committed to paying employees who continue to work, regardless of sales.

"The survival of this business and, therefore, of our team and their families depends on us taking difficult steps moving forward, including insuring that each of us has the most current information regarding this virus," Lynn wrote.

"While the truth of the virus and its impact is uncomfortable, it was and is important to us that our team receive the most up-to-date information, including the real risks of interacting with people."

Crawford, who filed for and is collecting unemployment, said no one from the dealership had reached out to him as of late April and he doubts they will call him back to work.

"What do you choose — your health or your money?" Crawford said. "And to some people, it's a hard thing to choose because people have bills and all. At the end of the day, you have to look out for your health. ... There's three kids that depend on me."

Jackie Charniga contributed to this report.