Poll: Almost 3/4 of employers using stricter COVID-19 safeguards

June 8 (UPI) -- As U.S. workers slowly return to work, more than half say their employers have adopted stricter precautions to mitigate the coronavirus disease, a survey showed Monday.

Gallup researchers said they have been tracking full- and part-time workers since March, and found they're seeing noticeable changes in the workplace.

Nearly 70 percent said their bosses are "always" using new and more frequent cleaning methods and encouraging hand washing and disinfectant cleanings. Fifty-eight percent said said the same about new protective gear like masks, gloves and face shields. Fifty-four percent said their companies always enforce distancing of at least six feet.

The survey found that employers, however, are less likely to screen their workers for symptoms. Just 41 percent said they're "always" checked and 39 percent said they're never checked.

According to the pollster, 33 percent of respondents said all or nearly all employees are back in the office, an increase of 5 percent since the last survey.

"Employers and workers are taking extra precautions to avoid spreading the virus and prevent another deadly wave of infections in the U.S.," Gallup said. "The ability of such actions to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections will help determine the pace and extent to which society reopens."

Gallup surveyed more than 1,900 U.S. workers for the survey, which has a margin of error of 5 points.