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Dear Friends,
Yesterday, the governor announced that industrial, manufacturing, and office-based businesses will be able to open Monday if they have safety plans in place.
Last week during session, House Republicans told the stories of the struggles many of our small businesses are facing. We have also been encouraging our small business owners to contact the governor's office and ask him to allow them to safely reopen. A lot of our businesses can bring their employees back to work safely, and I am glad that many of them will now be allowed to do so. I hope this will lead to even more of our businesses being allowed to open up as soon as they safely can.
Here is some information from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) on this executive order (EO):
There are 2.6 million Minnesotans working right now. EO 20-40, developed in consultation with thousands of business leaders, labor leaders, and public health experts, will allow around 20,000 businesses and roughly 80,000 – 100,000 workers to go back to work beginning on Monday, April 27.
In order to reopen, EO 20-40 requires these business to do three things:
- Create and share with their employees a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan that explains the actions they are taking to ensure social distancing and keep workers safe. The Department of Labor and Industry has created a template plan, which is optional for businesses to use as a starting point.
- Engage in health screening of employees each day at arrival
- Continue to use telework whenever possible
DEED will also be hosting two webinars on EO 20-40 with presenters who will talk through the process of returning workers in industrial and office-based business back to work. Join the conversation here at the following dates and times:
- Thursday, April 23 from 4 - 5:00 p.m.
- Friday, April 24 from 11:30am - 12:30 p.m.
For now, the Stay at Home order remains in place through May 3, and we should all continue to limit travel to essential needs only. We have made progress on slowing the spread of COVID-19, and we need to continue to practice social distancing to save lives.
We are continuing to listen to feedback from businesses and workers about how to implement social distancing practices in their workplaces – and if you have ideas, we encourage you to submit them here.
For more information about EO 20-40, including what it means for businesses and workers and a number of FAQs and additional information, please visit https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/covid/safework/. We’ll continue to update that site with content and information you need to know.
The governor also announced that schools will continue distance learning through the end of this school year. He has not yet made a decision on whether distance learning will continue this summer or in the fall.
Finally, I heard this week that the folks in charge of the Andover Family Fun Fest made the difficult decision to cancel it for this summer. While I was sad to hear it, I know that they are doing their best to protect the health and safety of attendees, and I appreciate their dedication to our community.
Sincerely,
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