CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 UPDATE
As the crisis has impacted all Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) customers, the MHIC staff has been working diligently to implement a responsive plan of action to deal with these trying times. Although there are delays in processing, MHIC staff has been able to perform most internal licensing and complaint functions. We are continuing to assist customers' demand for services by processing requests, returning phone messages, and answering e-mails. At this time, however, e-mails are the preferred method of communication.
We are aware that many of our external functions have been affected. Courts and hearing offices are currently closed. Our testing vendor, PSI Services, has stopped administering exams for MHIC licensing candidates. MHIC licensing and Guaranty Fund workshops have been suspended. We hope that these closures are brief. Please visit the MHIC home page often for updates, where you will find useful resources and notices to keep you informed and help you navigate the uncertain path ahead.
Stay safe and be well,
Dave
In one of Governor Larry Hogan’s earliest Executive Orders about the COVID-19 crisis, all license expiration dates were pushed to 30 days after the state of emergency has been lifted. We have temporarily extended them to June 1, 2020. Visit our home page and click on the red “renew your license” button to get started. You are encouraged to continue renewing your license online and performing all other activities that are required for your license to the extent that you are able.
Governor Larry Hogan ordered all non-essential businesses in Maryland to close by 5 p.m. on March 23, 2020. Read the Stay At Home Directive online. As part of that Order, certain businesses were allowed to remain open if they provide essential services to citizens.
Please note that employees of the Department of Labor are not permitted to interpret the Order on behalf of the governor’s office. Our department has received numerous calls from business owners asking if they are considered “essential services” or not. We understand that it is frustrating not to be certain, but we must refer you to the guidance published by The Governor's Office of Legal Counsel to make that determination. Further guidance was released later. Another help with guidance on the Order was issued after that.
If, after reading the Order and its interpretive guidance, you are still unsure whether or not your business is permitted to operate, there are additional resources to help with clarification. Take the following steps to help make your determination:
See the federal guidelines on critical infrastructure sectors in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s CISA website. Their interpretive guidance and FAQs appear on the home page.
Then, make a good faith effort to act in the spirit of the Order based on:
- the Order’s purpose, which is to “reduce the threat to human health caused by the transmission of the novel coronavirus in Maryland, and to protect and save lives”; and
- how similar businesses, organizations, and facilities are treated under the Order.
If your business decides to remain open, you must adhere to all applicable guidance from the CDC, MDH, and OSHA regarding social-distancing and environmental cleaning and disinfection. See information on healthy protocols such as social distancing and effective cleaning and disinfection. You can find more guidance from the CDC.
For additional information, including health protocols, financial assistance, unemployment insurance, and more, check the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Businesses webpage for the latest information and guidance. It includes an FAQ that will also be updated regularly.
Finally, the governor’s office has posted a helpful A-Z Resource Guide. It contains guidelines on most everything in our daily lives that have been affected by the state’s evolving COVID-19 response. The information is easy to read and is presented in a glossary-style format.
The offices of the Maryland Home Improvement Commission currently have limited access to the public. Please be patient with us, as it may take longer than usual to respond to voicemails and e-mails. E-mails are preferable to phone calls at this time. We can be reached using our contacts page for telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of individual staff members, or you may send your concerns to our general e-mail address and your message will be routed to the appropriate person.
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