Yes, Rent The Runway can stay open during coronavirus. Here’s why warehouses get a pass.

Yes, Rent The Runway can stay open during coronavirus. Here’s why warehouses get a pass. - NJ.com

Posted: 09 May 2020 09:03 AM PDT

When 22 warehouse workers at Rent The Runway in Secaucus told HuffPost they were placed at risk during the coronavirus pandemic so that women could wear designer dresses, the story quickly gained traction online. It was seen by man as a stark example of economic inequality: Wage workers were being put at risk so that wealthier shoppers could continue to have access to high fashion.

The reality is more complicated, and singling out Rent the Runway is unfair, the company insists.

Across New Jersey during the stay-at-home orders, non-essential retailers have continued to operate warehouses to package and distribute everything from makeup to electronics.

Rent The Runway's position is that warehouses can continue to operate as long as the workers follow social-distancing guidelines.

Rent The Runway operates as a fulfillment center, much like Amazon, a company spokeswoman said.

"We get a lot of complaints about the warehouses," Secaucus police Chief Dennis Miller told NJ Advance Media.

Miller said he couldn't say for sure whether Rent the Runway is considered an essential business and referred the question to Christine Aguilera, the town's health department administrator.

Aguilera did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

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"The thing about essential has been really tricky," said Erin Santy, spokeswoman for The RealReal, a luxury consignment shop that operates warehouses in Secaucus and Perth Amboy.

Like Rent The Runway, Santy said Gov. Phil Murphy's executive orders allow non-essential retailers to continue to operate – as long as the sales are not "in person."

Santy said "a couple of workers" at each of the New Jersey warehouses have contracted COVID-19 but she wouldn't be any more specific. Rent The Runway did not comment on whether any of its workers had been infected.

However, both companies state they have given their workers masks and gloves and have enforced strict and safe guidelines inside their warehouses.

"We have instituted social distancing measures, such as rearranged workstations, common spaces and staggered scheduling to meet or exceed recommendations," Rent The Runway said in its statement.

In a May 6 letter to shareholders, The RealReal said it had taken the extra measures of sanitizing during every hour of every shift and deep cleaning once a week.

They are also consulting with an outside "medical expert to validate our approach and to identify ways to continually improve," the letter said.

One of the workers who complained to HuffPost said the company had found "a loophole" in Murphy's executive orders to continue operating.

But state official say that claim just isn't true.

"This is a misunderstanding about how the EOs work — this isn't a loophole," Sharon Lauchaire, director of communications for the state, said Friday.

"Warehouses can continue operating in New Jersey," Lauchhaire said, adding that the "essential versus non-essential line relates to whether retail can be open to the public."

Since non-essential goods are available online or by phone, "warehousing still needs to be happening as part of that process," she said.

All warehouses in New Jersey must follow the guidelines in Executive Order 122, which states in part they must limit the occupancy to 50%, install physical barriers such as shield guards, and provider workers with face coverings.

"Warehouses have to abide by the strict social distancing guidelines that were put in place through various orders that we've issued," Murphy's chief counsel, Matt Platkin, said during Friday's press briefing.

"If they're not, there's a complaint process and we'd be happy to look into it," Platkin said.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com.