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Here’s what Colorado’s “Stay at Home” Order Means for Businesses

As of Thursday, March 26th at 6 a.m., all of Colorado has been placed under a “Stay at Home” order, which mandates that Coloradans not leave their residences except for essential activities. The order will be in effect until Saturday, April 11, 2020 unless it’s modified to continue past that date.

The executive order lays out the circumstances under which Coloradans can leave their homes, including to seek medical care, obtain food, and care for others. Critical businesses are exempt from the order, meaning their employees can leave their homes to go to-and-from work – but they must take all steps possible to comply with social distancing requirements (keeping a safe distance of six feet from other parties).

If a businesses is located in a local jurisdiction with more stringent “stay at home” requirements, those requirements must be followed. For businesses not defined as critical, the governor encourages remote working for employees. The Colorado Chamber’s recent survey of businesses found that many companies have taken steps to offer remote working to some or all employees.

The critical industries defined in the March 25th order are as follows:

  • Critical infrastructure, including utilities, oil and gas, telecommunications, transportation, hotels, agriculture.
  • Critical manufacturing, including food processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, sanitary products, medical equipment.
  • Critical retail, including grocery stores, gas stations, firearm stores, restaurants and bars for take-out or delivery only, hardware, pet stores, liquor and marijuana establishments.
  • Critical services, including trash, mail, laundry, child care, and cleaning services, warehouse distribution/fulfillment, storage, animal shelters.
  • News media
  • Financial institutions
  • Providers of basic necessities to economically disadvantaged populations, including homeless shelters and food banks.
  • Construction, including for housing and skilled trades.
  • Defense
  • Critical services necessary to maintain safety, sanitation and critical operations of residences, including law enforcement, fire prevention, code enforcement, auto repair, snow removal.
  • Vendors that provide critical services or products, including logistics and technology support and child care.
  • Critical government functions

View the Q&A document provided by the governor’s office here.

The order was updated on March 26th to include:

  • Legal services
  • Accounting services
  • Title companies
  • Real estate appraisals and transactions
  • Educational institutions in limited circumstances

View the updated executive order here.