Effective tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24 at 8:00 a.m., the governor’s office has issued an executive order for “non-critical” employers to reduce their in-person workforces by at least 50%. He encourages the use of tele-working and staggering employee shifts to accomplish this goal.
The order does not apply to critical businesses, or any business that can certify that employees are more than six feet apart from one another during the workday. A certification process is being developed.
Businesses defined as “critical” are as follows:
- Health care.
- Critical infrastructure, including utilities, oil and gas, telecom, hotels, and agriculture.
- Critical manufacturing, including food processing, chemicals, medical equipment.
- Critical retail, including grocery stores and gas stations.
- Critical services, including trash service, mail and shipping, warehouse distribution and fulfillment, laundromats, childcare, auto services, and animal shelters.
- News media.
- Financial institutions.
- Basic necessities to disadvantaged populations, including homeless shelters and food banks.
- Construction
- Defense
- Services to maintain safety, sanitation and critical operations of residences, including law enforcement, fire prevention, security and snow removal.
- Vendors that provide critical services or products, including logistics and technology support, child care and services.
- Critical government functions.
View pages 3-6 of the governor’s FAQ document for more details on what constitutes a critical business.
View the full executive order here.