1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |FDA Recommends Social Distancing in Food Facilities to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

FDA Recommends Social Distancing in Food Facilities to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.08.20

Continuing its efforts to ensure a continuous and safe supply of food during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, on April 5, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its Questions & Answers for Industry on food safety and COVID-19 to address social distancing in food production/processing facilities and retail food establishments where employees typically work in close proximity.

In light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) recommendation that individuals should maintain a distance of 6 feet from others, FDA suggests that food production/processing facilities and retail food establishments should evaluate their operations and determine if changes can be made to increase employee separation. However, FDA recognizes that in many facilities, maintaining a minimum 6-foot distance between employees is not possible.

To address this issue, FDA recommends that food production/processing facilities and retail food establishments ensure proper hygiene practices, including frequent and proper handwashing, regular cleaning of all surfaces, and wearing face coverings under appropriate circumstances. FDA further urges collaboration with state and local officials to ensure an appropriate response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, FDA encourages sick employees to comply with CDC guidelines, which urges sick individuals to stay at home, except to get medical care. With increased reports of workers in both manufacturing and retail facilities falling ill, we expect FDA will continue to make best practice recommendations to keep critical food supply chains open.

Contacts

Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 12.12.25

Eleventh Circuit Hears Argument on False Claims Act Qui Tam Constitutionality

On the morning of December 12, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. 2025). This case concerns the constitutionality of the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions and a groundbreaking September 2024 opinion in which the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the FCA’s qui tam provisions were unconstitutional under Article II. See United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Fla. Med. Assocs., LLC, 751 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2024). That decision, penned by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was the first success story for a legal theory that has been gaining steam ever since Justices Thomas, Barrett, and Kavanaugh indicated they would be willing to consider arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 599 U.S. 419 (2023). In her opinion, Judge Mizelle held (1) qui tam relators are officers of the U.S. who must be appointed under the Appointments Clause; and (2) historical practice treating qui tam and similar relators as less than “officers” for constitutional purposes was not enough to save the qui tam provisions from the fundamental Article II infirmity the court identified. That ruling was appealed and, after full briefing, including by the government and a bevy of amici, the litigants stepped up to the plate this morning for oral argument....

View All Insights